Does the conservation of resources motivate middle-aged women to perform physical activity?

This article aims to examine the factors that motivate middle-aged women to engage in leisure physical activity (LPA) and to explore the relationship between resources loss and gains and engaging in LPA. It is a cross-sectional study based on a self-reported questionnaire (n = 949), using variables of the conservation of resources theory and the theory of planned behavior. Results show that women who engage in physical activity experience lower resources loss than inactive women. The longer they engage in physical activity, the less they experience losses such as youth, attractiveness, optimism, health, and beauty. Conservation of resources, perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and normative beliefs predict 41% (p < .0001) of the variance in the engagement in leisure physical activity. Findings suggest that constructing effective strategies to promote LPA requires also addressing these factors, which are valued by middle-aged women.