Motives for Participation in Physical Activity Among Adults in Croatia: A Population-based Cross-sectional Study

Sa？etak The aim of the study was to determine the motives for the participation in physical activity among young and middle-aged adults in Croatia. The total sample consisted of 419 male participants (Mage = 39.85; SD = 1.28) and 442 female participants (Mage = 40.49; SD = 1.31) who evaluated the importance of seven motives for the participation in physical activity (weight loss, general fitness improvement, increased muscle mass, relaxation, improvement of physical appearance, socialization, and alleviation of specific health problems). According to the results obtained, the male participants mainly point to the importance of general fitness improvement, increased muscle mass, improvement in physical appearance and socialization, whereas the female participants more often participate in physical activity in order to regulate body weight and alleviate specific health problems. As expected, young male and female adults more often participate in physical activity to improve their physical appearance, while middle-aged adults emphasized relaxation effect and health improvement. The results point to the importance of a differential approach in promoting physical activity among men and women of different age groups. The paper also outlines and discusses the most common barriers to the participation in physical activity among adults