Physical and psychological predictors of exercise dosage in healthy adults

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the exercise dose-respons e issue in a sample of 121 regular exercisers categorized as relatively low , moderate, or high dosage physical activity participants, Methods: Male an d female students, faculty, and staff of a midwestern university, currently engaging in various exercise modalities at least two times per week, were assessed on a variety of factors: hypothesized to impact one's degree of ex ercise involvement. Results: ANOVA procedures indicated that low and high d osage groups differed significantly on the variables of age, exercise histo ry, positive affect, and the locus of causality and stability attributional dimensions. Groups did not differ significantly in terms of body mass inde x, exercise efficacy, perceptions of either personal or external control ov er exercise behavior, or negative affective reactions to exercise behavior. Conclusions: Taken together, the findings of this study suggest that indiv iduals who exercise at varying doses of physical activity may be differenti ated by certain demographic, behavioral, physiological, and psychological v ariables.