| A cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the relationships among potential predictors of leisure time physical activity (LTPA), and to suggest which type(s) of LTPA-promoting interventions should be pursued. A total of 304 subjects responded from the 469 eligible, randomly-selected residents of the 30 highest-income census tracts of Rockford, Illinois (response rate: 65%). A heuristic model of eleven explanatory variables was tested using structural equation modeling with LISREL. The model variables were gender, age, occupational physical activity, education, normative influences to exercise, amount overweight, cardiovascular risk status, perceived current health status, health self-determinism, exercise knowledge, and attitudes toward LTPA. Male gender, normative influences, and health self-determinism were significantly predictive of the self-reported levels of LTPA participation.;The overall fit of the final model did differ significantly between two levels of perceived health status; the final model fit well with the data for the very healthy group, but poorly for those who did not perceive themselves to be very healthy. The predominant difference between the two health status groups was that normative influence to exercise was not associated with LTPA participation for those with poorer perceived health.;The findings suggest pursuing interventions to increase LTPA participation that address: (1) enhancement of health self-determinism and normative influences on exercise (especially from doctors, health experts, and spouses); (2) the negative attitudes toward exercise held by women who smoke or are overweight; and (3) the deterrents to LTPA participation of those with poorer perceived health, including fears associated with exercising.;The overall goodness of fit of the final model was compared for men and women and was not found to differ significantly between genders. However, positive attitudes toward exercise predicted higher levels of LTPA participation for women but not for men, while normative influences were more likely to predict participation for men than for women. Health self-determinism was an important predictor of LTPA participation for both genders. |
