Psychosocial, behavioral, and biometric characteristics of stages of exercise adoption

This study incorporates the Stages of Change model to examine the relations hip between the stages of exercise adoption and indicators of health and fi tness. Subjects were 198 United States Forest Service (USFS) workers recrui ted from 8 USFS ranger stations in the Pacific Northwest. Analysis indicate d that those subjects in Action and Maintenance stages of exercise adoption differed significantly from those in Preparation and Precontemplation/Cont emplation st ages on a variety of indicators of both health and fitness. Al so, interesting differences were noted among the physically inactive stages , e.g., Preparation stage subjects showed lower triglycerides, systolic blo od pressure, and higher HDL cholesterol compared with subjects in the Preco ntemplation/Contemplation stage. Progressing to the Preparation stage, wher e the individual remains inactive bur is aware of the problem and has begun to make small changes, is associated with a differing (more positive) heal th profile in this study compared to those in the Precontemplation/Contempl ation stage. These results imply that simply advancing in stage can have a variety of health benefits.