LONGITUDINAL SHIFTS IN EMPLOYEES STAGES AND PROCESSES OF EXERCISE BEHAVIOR-CHANGE

Purpose. This study examines the usefulness of using the stages and pr ocesses of change model to explore exercise adoption and maintenance o ver time. Design. Data for this study were collected as part of the ba seline and follow-up survey of participants in a worksite health promo tion project. Subjects. Three hundred fourteen employees completed exe rcise questionnaires. The average age was 41 years, mean body mass ind ex was 26, average years of education were 13, and 66% were women. Set ting. The study was conducted in two worksites, a retail outlet and a manufacturing company. Measures. Previously validated questionnaires t o determine stages and processes of exercise adoption were administere d at baseline and 6-month follow-up, along with questions about demogr aphic variables. Results. Four patterns of stage change emerged: subje cts who became more active (adopters, 26%), those who became less acti ve (relapsers, 15%), and those who did not change over time (stable se dentary, 32%; stable active, 27%). Adopters displayed increases in use of the processes of change, whereas relapsers displayed decreases in process use. Stable profiles were associated with no change in process use. Conclusions. These findings have important implications for rese arch on exercise adoption and maintenance. Interventions tailored spec ifically to subjects' stage of readiness to be active and using specif ic processes to help in the change process are warranted at this time.