Popular Media Representations of Physical Activity Among Mothers

Abstract

Purpose. Many mothers fail to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity. Popular media magazines targeting mothers provide information about physical activity and health, but little is known about the framing and content of physical activity messages within these sources. The aim of this content analysis was to analyze the framing and content (i.e., benefits, consequences, and sources of self-efficacy) of physical activity messages directed toward mothers in popular magazines. Method. Ten popular magazines were selected for data analysis and coded independently by two researchers in NVivo Version 10.0 for gain- or loss-framed messages, benefits and consequences of physical activity, and sources of self-efficacy. Results. Most of the 164 articles encouraged physical activity by presenting benefits associated with physical activity. These benefits primarily focused on weight loss and fitness gains and few articles used self-efficacy messages to enhance confidence in physical activity participation. Conclusions. It is promising that popular media magazines used gain-framed messages about the benefits of physical activity for mothers. Future research should focus on finding ways of using popular media outlets to promote a more comprehensive set of physical activity benefits, enhance physical activity self-efficacy, and determine the impact of such messages on physical activity participation.

Keywords

health behavior health promotion media print media women’s health

Engaging in regular physical activity has a wide range of health benefits that include chronic disease risk reduction, improved mental health, weight maintenance, and enhanced quality of life (Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2008). Despite these benefits, rates of meeting national physical activity guidelines are low, with only ~20% of adults meeting the national physical activity recommendations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Fewer women (42.6%) meet these physical activity guidelines compared to men (52.1%; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Thus, many adults, especially women, are not accruing the benefits associated with engaging in regular physical activity.

More than 80% of women will become mothers during their lifetime (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010); this is an important life stage to understand and promote physical activity. Several studies using objective and self-reported physical activity measures suggest that mothers are not meeting national physical activity guidelines (Candelaria et al., 2012; Dlugonski & Motl, 2013; Hamilton & White, 2011; Hull et al., 2010). In a small cross-sectional study, mothers engaged in approximately 22 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day compared to 40 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for nonmothers (Dlugonski & Motl, 2013). Among a larger sample, mothers reported only 144 minutes of health enhancing physical activity per week, less than the recommended minimum of 150 minutes per week (Hamilton & White, 2011). In a recent 2-year prospective study, women who became mothers for the first time reported a nearly 3-hour decrease in physical activity per week compared to a decrease of 0.1 hours among women who remained childless (Hull et al., 2010). It is essential to better understand factors that influence physical activity among mothers to improve efforts to promote physical activity and enhance health among this group of women.

Women are twice as likely as men to seek out physical activity information (Berry, Spence, Plotnikoff, & Bauman, 2011). According to a recent survey, 51% of women aged 16 years and older reported regularly reading magazines or journals (Rainie, Zickuhr, Purcell, Madden, & Brenner, 2012). Physical activity is one of the most common health-related topics in popular women’s magazines, but only 66% of the physical activity information was consistent with the American Heart Association recommendations in an earlier content analysis (Turner, Vader, & Walters, 2008). Despite being one of the most common health-related topics in women’s magazines, a recent analysis suggests that seeking physical activity information from print media sources was not associated with meeting national physical activity guidelines (Redmund, Baer, Clark, Lipsitz, & Hicks, 2010), whereas seeking diet information was associated with meeting dietary guidelines (Redmund et al., 2010).

The gap between receiving information about physical activity and engaging in this behavior might be related to the framing of messages about physical activity that are included in popular media magazines. A recent systematic review by Latimer, Brawley, and Bassett (2010) explored the relationship between the use of gain, loss, and mixed (both gain and loss) framed messages and physical activity. Gain-framed messages emphasize the benefits of physical activity, whereas loss-framed messages focus on the risks of physical inactivity, and mixed-framed messages emphasize both the benefits of physical activity and risks of physical inactivity. The systematic review concluded that gain-framed messages were associated with greater levels of physical activity compared to loss-framed messages (Latimer et al., 2010). As such, it is important to consider the type of message framing that is used to promote physical activity in popular media sources.

The content of popular media articles may also influence physical activity beliefs and shape the discourse about physical activity among mothers (Maibach, 2007; Malkin, Wornian, & Chrisler, 1999; Theberge, 1991). For example, one study found that women’s magazine covers were more likely to have messages about diet, exercise, and bodily appearance compared with men’s magazine covers (Malkin et al., 1999). A more recent review documents the impact of media content on other health behaviors including tobacco use and eating behaviors (Maibach, 2007). Magazines are one possible medium for disseminating information regarding benefits and consequences of physical activity for mothers, yet little is known about the content of these articles. The benefits and consequences that are promoted within the gain- or loss-framed messages directed toward mothers might shape one’s reasons for engaging in physical activity and, ultimately, long-term adherence to this important health behavior.

The aforementioned systematic review described and analyzed the role of self-efficacy for promoting physical activity behavior (Latimer et al., 2010). This systematic review concluded that evidence for the impact of self-efficacy messages on physical activity is mixed and inconsistent (Latimer et al., 2010). However, self-efficacy is a consistent predictor of physical activity (McAuley & Blissmer, 2000), and the presence and content of self-efficacy messages within popular media magazines warrants further investigation. Bandura (1986) identified four sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences/social modeling, verbal persuasion, and interpretation of affective or physiological states. Mastery experiences involve personal successful past performances of the behavior. Vicarious experiences/social modeling enhance self-efficacy through observing the successful experiences of others and verbal persuasion improves efficacy through encouragement from others. Interpretation of affective or physiological states affects one’s confidence to perform a behavior based on how one feels physically or emotionally when performing the behavior. These sources of efficacy could be included within popular media magazine messages to increase confidence in a mother’s ability to engage in regular and sustained physical activity. A review of popular media influences on physical activity described the paucity of research on the prevalence and influence of vicarious experience/social modeling messages for physical activity within popular media content (Maibach, 2007). To date, we are unaware of any study that has examined the prevalence of self-efficacy messages within popular media for promoting physical activity among mothers.

There were three primary aims in this study of messages about physical activity directed toward mothers within popular media magazines. The first aim was to determine the prevalence of gain-, loss-, and mixed-framed messages about physical activity. The second aim was to analyze the benefits and consequences of physical activity presented within these physical activity messages. The final aim was to determine the prevalence and content of self-efficacy messages directed toward mothers in popular media magazines.

Method

Magazine Sample

Magazines for the content analysis were selected using circulation data from the Consumer Magazine Media database provided by the Standard Rate and Data Service in the fall of 2013. To identify magazines that targeted mothers with dependent children, magazines with the highest total circulation from each of the following categories were purposively selected: parent, women, health, popular culture, and Black/African American. The parent category was overrepresented to capture articles relevant to the research purpose. Selected magazines met the following inclusion criteria: published in 2012, at least six issues a year, median readership age 55 years or younger, women represent more than 60% of readership audience, and included information about health. Ten magazines met these criteria; five magazines were in the parenthood category, one magazine was listed in parenthood and women, and the remaining four magazines were the highest total circulation in each of the categories mentioned that met inclusion criteria. In all but two cases, all issues available for each magazine were reviewed. For People magazine, all special editions were excluded, and for US Weekly, a random selection of 3 issues per quarter (12 issues total) were reviewed because the focus of this magazine was not on health topics and to more closely align with the number of issues reviewed for other magazines. See Table 1 for detailed information about each magazine.

Table 1.

Physical Activity (PA) Articles (N = 164) for Content Analysis.

Publication	Circulation	Readers’ median age	Readers’ sex (% women)	Median household income (women)	Issues reviewed/issues available	Pages searched	Number of PA articles	PA articles per 1,000 pages
Parent
Family Circle^a	4,014,881	55.1	92.0	$55,482	12/12	2,035	26	12.78
Family Fun	2,124,624	39.3	83.6	$71,248	10/10	1,011	7	6.92
Parents	2,213,758	35.9	84.4	$57,442	12/12	2,096	24	11.45
Working Mother	760,563	44.0	90.7	$50,607	7/7	740	25	33.78
Fit Pregnancy	502,484	30.1	92.8	$63,970	7/7	890	38	42.70
Scholastic Parent & Child	1,318,423	36.9	82.9	$52,475	10/10	844	5	5.92
Women
People	3,542,185	43.8	70.6	$66,482	52/60	6,968	17	2.44
Health
Shape	1,614,641	40.6	90.3	$89,220	12/12	1,924	10	5.20
African American
Essence	1,061,103	43.4	74.2	$39,169	12/12	1,864	8	4.29
Popular culture
US Weekly	1,959,784	33.0	77.1	$70,421	12/52	1,140	4	3.51
Total for all magazines					146	19,512	164	12.90^b

Also categorized in women’s magazines. ^bAverage number of PA articles per 1,000 pages across all magazines rather than total.

Data Analysis

Articles directed toward mothers (i.e., mentioned motherhood or included illustrations of mothers) that included information about physical activity and/or exercise were selected for the content analysis. In an initial quantitative phase, articles were coded in Microsoft Excel for magazine category, article length, health behaviors, percent focus on physical activity, and gain-, loss-, or mixed-framed messages. See Table 2 for a complete description of these quantitative coding categories.

Table 2.

Quantitative Coding Variables and Definitions.

Variable	Definitions
Magazine type	Parent; Women; Health; Black/African American; Popular culture
Article length	Brief (<1 page); Short (1-2 pages); Long (>2 pages)
Health behavior	Yes/no for physical activity/exercise; Diet/food/nutrition; Sleep; Smoking
Physical activity focus	Yes/no if >75% of article about physical activity/exercise
Gain-/loss-/mixed-framed messages	Yes/no if article contained messages that focused on the benefits of physical activity (gain); Risks of inactivity (loss); or Both (mixed)

Next, all articles that included information about physical activity or exercise were uploaded to NVivo Version 10.0 (QSR International, 2014) for qualitative data analysis (White & Marsh, 2006). Consistent with this qualitative content analysis approach, an initial reading of the magazine articles was conducted to inductively analyze the benefits and consequences of physical activity presented in articles directed toward mothers. The presence of gain-framed messages and the importance of social modeling emerged as important themes within the data during this analysis. Then, two researchers created a codebook using themes from the inductive analysis, a previous systematic review (Latimer et al., 2010), and commonly cited benefits and consequences of physical activity (Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2008) to provide a rich, contextual description of messages related to physical activity among mothers. Each article was coded for examples of gain- and loss-framed messages, benefits and negative consequences of physical activity, and four sources of self-efficacy (i.e., mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and interpretation of affective or physiological responses). Two researchers coded all articles for each of these themes based on a jointly developed codebook. See Table 3 for a complete description of each qualitative code. Any discrepancies in coding were discussed and resolved between these two researchers.

Table 3.

Qualitative Coding Variables and Definitions.

Theme	Categories	Definition
Message framing	Gain-framed	Benefits associated with being physically active
	Mixed-framed	Included both loss- and gain-framed messages
	Loss-framed	Risks associated with being physically inactive
Benefits of physical activity/exercise	Disease risk	Reducing risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, or other diseases
	Stress relief	Reducing stress, tension, or enhanced feelings of relaxation or calmness
	Self-esteem	Enhanced feelings of self-confidence or body esteem
	Mental health	Decreased feelings of anxiety, depression, or other mental disorder or improved mood
	Cognitive health	Improved cognition, memory, information processing, and so on.
	Energy	Enhanced energy or vigor
	Fitness	Improvements in aerobic capacity or functioning, muscular strength or endurance, or flexibility
	Weight loss	Loss or maintenance of bodyweight
Negative consequences	Muscle soreness or fatigue	Muscular soreness or fatigue associated with physical activity
Negative consequences	Injury	Acute or chronic injury
Self-efficacy sources^a,b	Mastery experiences	Impact of one’s previous successful physical activity experiences on future participation or confidence to participate in physical activity OR how successfully starting a physical activity program could enhance confidence for future physical activity participation
	Vicarious experiences	Use of personal success stories related to physical activity that may impact the readers’ confidence in her ability to do the same or similar behavior in the future
	Verbal persuasion	Verbal or nonverbal tactics used by others to increase one’s confidence to participate in future physical activity
	Interpretation of affective or physiological state	Connecting physiological (e.g., rapid heart rate, sore or burning muscles, sweating) or affective (e.g., happiness, pride, sadness, disappointment) states during physical activity with confidence in ability to be active in the future

Self-efficacy sources were only coded if article mentioned the source of self-efficacy as defined and the impact on future physical activity/exercise participation. ^bAll sources of self-efficacy were coded from the perspective of the content provider rather than the reader.

Results

A total of 149 issues (19,512 pages) were reviewed from 10 magazines; this yielded 164 physical activity articles. Approximately half of the articles (n = 84) had a 75% or greater focus on physical activity. Of the 164 physical activity articles, 77 (47%) focused exclusively on physical activity. The remaining articles included information about physical activity and diet/nutrition (n = 63; 38%), multiple health behaviors (n = 17; 10%), and meditation and/or sleep (n = 7; 4%). The majority of articles were brief (n = 90; 55%) or long (n = 54; 33%), with few articles categorized as short (n = 20; 12%). The following sections include results related to the three primary aims of this study: gain- versus loss-framed messages, benefits and consequences of physical activity, and self-efficacy for physical activity participation.

Gain- Versus Loss-Framed Physical Activity Messages

The majority of physical activity articles presented gain-framed messages (n = 150; 91.5%), whereas no articles presented only loss-framed messages and 12 articles (7.3%) presented both mixed-framed messages. Two articles presented only negative consequences of engaging in physical activity and were not categorized as gain or loss framed. Thus, physical activity articles directed toward mothers overwhelmingly focused on the benefits of engaging in physical activity rather than the risks associated with physical inactivity. A few selected examples of gain-framed messages include, “Let’s Dance Together Prenatal Dance Fitness—A fun workout combining free-form dance, yoga, and breathing to keep you strong, flexible, and centered. The labor-prep portion teaches stress-release and mental-focus techniques.” (Fit Pregnancy), “A good cardio workout will whittle your waist and strengthen your heart.” (Essence), and “Now I run seven miles every morning before my kids get up. I feel proud of myself. I’ve taken control of my body, my weight and my life.” (People). By contrast, the following is an example of an article that used mixed-framed messages (Family Circle):

HOP ON YOUR FEET: Stand up to fold laundry, balance the checkbook, or pay bills online. “Studies show that prolonged sitting, or sitting for the majority of the day, may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease as much as smoking,” says Dr. Grogan. On the flip side, standing and strolling around help improve circulation and the health of your arteries.

These mixed-framed messages were distributed across several magazines, including Essence, Family Circle, Fit Pregnancy, Parenting, People, and Shape.

Benefits and Negative Consequences of Physical Activity

References to the benefits of physical activity were more prevalent than references to the negative consequences of physical activity. See Figure 1 for a complete count of all benefits and negative consequences within this sample of physical activity articles. The most frequently cited benefit of physical activity for mothers was weight loss/maintenance (n = 69 articles; 42% of articles). The focus on weight loss is reflected by the following article titles, “8 Weeks to a Slimmer You” and “Walk More, Gain Less.” Similarly, these quotes highlight the connection between physical activity and weight loss, “For those of you who have been following my adventures to get healthy—or let’s call it what it is, to lose weight.” (Working Mother) and “Putting an end to extra pounds this season is simpler than you think. Just follow our get-slim strategies.” (Family Circle). Weight loss as a benefit of physical activity participation was especially prominent within articles targeting pregnant and/or postnatal mothers, as evidenced by the following quote: “Weight-loss advice will have you in pre-pregnancy shape in no time.” (Fit Pregnancy). Many of the articles describing postnatal weight loss featured celebrity and noncelebrity mothers and their “post-baby” weight loss stories. For example, one article, titled, “13 MOMS 12 MONTHS! These stars began to reclaim their red carpet bodies within weeks of giving birth,” provided examples of strategies that helped the mothers to lose weight after delivering their baby, including physical activity. The following is one such story: 3 Months After! Nia Long, 41; “Dreading this 3 mile run but gotta do it!” tweeted the actress, who also totes son Kez along to “Mommy and Me” yoga (People).

Figure 1.

Number of articles referencing each benefit and negative consequence of physical activity or exercise.

The second most frequently cited benefit of physical activity was increasing fitness (n = 45; 27.4%). Most of the articles that described fitness gains associated with physical activity described improved cardiorespiratory endurance, increased muscular strength, or enhanced flexibility. For example, one Fit Pregnancy article stated, “Walking strengthens your heart and lungs, improves circulation, and can be done in 10-minute sessions if you get winded easily.” and another article from People magazine reported, “Biel (in Puerto Rico June 22) has credited yoga with keeping her muscles ‘long and flexible’.” Nearly 38% of the references to increased physical fitness with participation in physical activity focused on appearance related “fitness” gains. For example, one article connected physical fitness with improved body appearance, “‘When your core is toned and strong, your torso has a more sleek, taut appearance,’ says trainer Ramona Braganza, the creator of the 3-2-1 Baby Bulge Be Gone DVD.” (Fit Pregnancy). Another article in Parents magazine reported, “It turns out you can become sculpted and sleeker with just two 15-minute workouts a week, says Fred Hahn, creator of the Slow Burn fitness routine.” These quotes illustrate the focus on fitness and in some cases, the link between fitness and appearance-related physical activity outcomes.

The third most commonly reported benefit of physical activity was decreasing risk of chronic disease (n = 22; 13.4%). These articles described the link between physical activity participation and the reduction in heart-related diseases, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. This is evidenced by these quotes from Family Circle and Essence, respectively, “LOVE YOUR HEART EVERYDAY: Little changes can have a dramatic impact when it comes to the most important muscle in your body.” and “Many factors increase the risk of heart disease in Black women, including higher cholesterol levels and high blood pressure rates, overweight and obesity, diabetes, smoking and lack of physical activity.”

Few themes were noted for the other health-related benefits such as decreased stress (n = 17; 10.4%), increased energy (n = 16; 9.8%), improved self-esteem (n = 11; 6.7%), increased cognitive health (n = 10; 6.1%), and enhanced mental health (n = 8; 4.9%). Despite the many benefits associated with regular physical activity, this analysis suggests that popular media articles about physical activity directed toward mothers focus on a limited number of benefits that primarily promote physical activity for weight loss/maintenance, fitness and/or appearance-related outcomes, and reduction in the risk of chronic diseases.

Self-Efficacy

Mastery Experiences

The use of mastery experiences to promote confidence in one’s ability to participate in future physical activity was present in 16 (9.8%) articles. This was the second most prevalent sources of self-efficacy, following vicarious experiences. The impact of successful previous physical activity participation is present in this example of mastery experiences from People magazine, “I have an addiction—Zumba. I do whatever I have to to get to class. And dancing: Before, I’d get winded. Now I can last the whole song!” Another example from Working Mother magazine illustrates the impact that small incremental changes can have on future physical activity participation,

So I set a goal of doing a half-marathon. My first day of training, I loaded Lucy in the jog-stroller, headed out the door—and was back in 20 minutes. But I kept at it and now I’m up to seven miles.

Vicarious Experiences

The use of vicarious experiences was a common approach for promoting physical activity. This approach represented the use of personal success stories designed to enhance confidence among readers. Over a third of all articles (n = 57; 34.8%) used vicarious experiences or social modeling techniques as a primary method for promoting physical activity and weight loss. Of the 57 social modeling articles, 61.4% (n = 35) used social modeling to encourage weight loss and physical activity, 28.1% (n = 16) used social modeling to encourage physical activity, and 8.8% (n = 5) used social modeling to encourage weight loss. Examples of social modeling for physical activity and weight loss, respectively, include, “Corie is a triathlete and half-marathoner, something she couldn’t have imagined a couple of years ago, when she could barely run two blocks” (Working Mother) and “Amy hit her goal weight of 160 in six months” (Parents). These examples illustrate the ways that popular media magazines promoted physical activity among mothers using the stories and successes of other celebrity and noncelebrity mothers.

Verbal Persuasion

There were 11 articles (6.7%) that included information about the verbal and nonverbal tactics that might serve as sources for enhancing self-efficacy for participation in future physical activity among mothers who are reading these magazines. The verbal support that impacts future behavior is evidenced by the following quote in Fit Pregnancy: “I met tons of people who used saying ‘Congratulations’ as an icebreaker, and I was encouraged daily with, ‘You look great!’ and ‘You’re in better shape than I am!’ After I delivered, I couldn’t wait to return.” Another article from Family Circle stated,

My goal: to find some cyberbuddies to keep me on the straight and narrow. . . . After a week or so spent getting a feel for the groups’ vibes, gathering tips and trying the tracking tools, I was ready to “weigh in.” Once I did, I was quickly lauded with points, trophies, and congratulations.

The examples of verbal persuasion included in this sample of magazine articles came from many different sources, including other gym members, personal trainers, family members, and in-person and online support groups.

Interpretation of Affective and Physiological Responses to Physical Activity

Very few articles (n = 4; 2.4%) included information about the impact of the interpretation of physiological (e.g., sweating, heart rate increase) or affective (e.g., feelings of anxiety) responses to physical activity on self-efficacy. This is not surprising given that this is the weakest source of self-efficacy. An example of the interpretation of physiological responses to physical activity is, “The superfit singer, 32, was doing Bikini Boot Camp within a year of welcoming Willow, 1. ‘I am sore!’ she tweeted in May. ‘I feel like a champion.’” (People). None of the articles described affective responses to physical activity in relation to one’s self-efficacy for performing the behavior in the future.

Discussion

Rates of physical activity among mothers are low (Candelaria et al., 2012; Dlugonski & Motl, 2013; Hamilton & White, 2011; Hull et al., 2010) and popular media magazines might be one avenue for disseminating information about physical activity and health among mothers. Thus, it is important to consider the framing and content of physical activity messages within these articles. The purposes of this study were to describe the prevalence of gain- and loss-framed messages, and the content of physical activity messages, specifically the benefits and negative consequences used to promote physical activity and sources of self-efficacy included in popular magazine articles targeted toward mothers. These magazines offer an opportunity for sharing public health messages, providing health information, and promoting behavior change but it is essential to better understand the framing and content of these messages and ultimately, the impact on behavior.

Nearly all articles in the present analysis used gain-framed messages to promote the benefits of being physically active for mothers. This is a promising finding since the use of gain-framed messages has been recommended for persuading individuals to engage in physical activity (Latimer et al., 2010). Magazines and other popular media sources should continue to focus on presenting the benefits of physical activity instead of the risks of inactivity. Future studies might explore the impact of consumption of these messages on physical activity participation, motivation, or beliefs among mothers.

Weight loss was the most commonly reported benefit associated with physical activity in articles targeted toward mothers. This was not surprising because weight loss is a commonly reported reason for engaging in physical activity among women (Kilpatrick, Hebert, & Bartholomew, 2005) and has been associated with engaging in physical activity (Cash, Novy, & Grant, 1994; Eyler et al., 2002). This finding is consistent with a previous content analysis that examined two women’s magazines for health information (Moyer, Vishnu, & Sonnad, 2001); results from that content analysis indicated that more than 20% of all health-related articles focused on weight loss. Weight loss is only one of the many benefits of engaging in physical activity, and the primary focus on weight loss might be problematic for physical activity participation and long-term adherence to regular physical activity. In one study among middle-aged women, almost half of all participants had body-shape or weight loss motives for physical activity, and women with these motives were less likely to engage in physical activity compared to women with non-body-shape motives for physical activity (Segar, Spruijt-Metz, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006). To promote regular, long-term physical activity among mothers, popular media magazines should reduce the messages that connect physical activity to weight loss and increase messages about other benefits of physical activity such as enhancing quality of life and well-being and decreasing stress (Segar, Eccles, & Richardson, 2008).

There were few examples of all sources of self-efficacy except for vicarious experiences/social modeling used to promote physical activity to mothers. Social modeling is a key concept within social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986, 2004). Bandura outlined four specific ways that to build self-efficacy, one’s situation specific confidence in one’s ability to carry out a behavior (Bandura, 1986); these include mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and interpretation of affective or physiological states. Vicarious experiences, learning from the successful experiences of others, are the second strongest source of self-efficacy and can be used to understand and change behavior (Bandura, 2004). It seems that magazines are seizing the opportunity to promote physical activity by providing mothers who read these articles with examples of other mothers who are currently leading a physically active lifestyle. Unfortunately, more than 70% of the social modeling examples conflate physical activity and weight loss, further strengthening the connection between engaging in physical activity for weight loss motives. These vicarious experiences/social modeling examples might be more beneficial to mothers if they focused on participating in physical activity for enjoyment, stress relief, or to achieve physical activity goals.

Mastery experiences are the strongest sources of self-efficacy, and examples of these were included in less than 10% of all articles. One potential way to eliminate the gap between women’s consumption of popular media and physical activity participation (Redmund et al., 2010) is to provide more information related to mastery experiences in magazines and other popular media sources. For example, magazines could teach mothers how to have successful experiences with physical activity (e.g., set small, achievable goals when beginning a physical activity program; highlight the importance of having successful physical activity experiences for future participation, etc.).

In conclusion, popular media magazines are using mostly gain-framed messages to promote physical activity among mothers. These articles primarily focused on long-term benefits of physical activity (i.e., weight loss, fitness, and health) with little focus on more immediate outcomes such as stress relief, enjoyment, and improved mood. Beyond vicarious experiences/social modeling, magazines are not providing many messages that build confidence to be physically active among mothers. Future studies should explore the impact of the framing and content of physical activity messages on physical activity participation among mothers.

There were some limitations noted with this study. First, only print versions of popular magazines were analyzed, and mothers likely obtain information from other sources. Second, we did not conduct an interrater reliability analysis for the quantitative phase of this study that would have enhanced the reliability of the quantitative findings. Finally, this analysis focused solely on motherhood and physical activity. Mothers might be receiving messages about physical activity from other sources targeting women or the general population that were not analyzed as part of this study. Future research might examine how popular media could be used to promote physical activity among the target population of mothers and the general population. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the content of physical activity articles targeting mothers within popular media magazines. This information is important for understanding the messages that might be shaping physical activity beliefs and choices among mothers.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

Bandura

(1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura

(2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education & Behavior, 31, 143-164.

Berry

T. R.

Spence

J. C.

Plotnikoff

R. C.

Bauman

(2011). Physical activity information seeking and advertising recall. Health Communication, 26, 246-254.

Candelaria

Sallis

Conway

Saelens

Frank

Slymen

(2012). Differences in physical activity among adults in households with and without children. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 9, 985-995.

Cash

T. F.

Novy

P. L.

Grant

J. R.

(1994). Why do women exercise? Factor analysis and further validation of the reasons for exercise inventory. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 78, 539-544.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Adult participation in aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activities—United States, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6217a2.htm

Dlugonski

Motl

R. W.

(2013). Marital status and motherhood: Implications for physical activity. Women & Health, 53, 203-215.

Eyler

A. E.

Wilcox

Matson-Koffman

D. M.

Evenson

K. R.

Sanderson

Thompson

. . . Rohm-Young

(2002). Correlates of physical activity among women for diverse racial/ethnic groups. Journal of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Medicine, 11, 239-253.

Hamilton

White

K. M.

(2011). Identifying key belief-based targets for promoting regular physical activity among mothers and fathers with young children. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 14, 135-142. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2010.07.004

10.

Hull

E. E.

Rofey

D. L.

Robertson

R. J.

Nagle

E. F.

Otto

A. D.

Aaron

D. J.

(2010). Influence of marriage and parenthood on physical activity: A 2-year prospective analysis. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 7, 577-583.

11.

Kilpatrick

Hebert

Bartholomew

(2005). College student’s motivation for physical activity: Differentiating men’s and women’s motives for sport participation and exercise. Journal of American College Health, 54, 87-94.

12.

Latimer

A. E.

Brawley

L. R.

Bassett

R. L.

(2010). A systematic review of three approaches for constructing physical activity messages: What messages work and what improvements are needed? International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7, 36.

13.

Maibach

(2007). The influence of the media environment on physical activity: Looking at the big picture. American Journal of Health Promotion, 21, 353-362.

14.

Malkin

A. R.

Wornian

Chrisler

J. C.

(1999). Women and weight: Gendered messages on magazine covers. Sex Roles, 40, 647-655.

15.

McAuley

Blissmer

(2000). Self-efficacy determinants and consequences of physical activity. Exercise and Sciences Reviews, 28, 85-88.

16.

Moyer

C. A.

Vishnu

L. O.

Sonnad

S. S.

(2001). Providing health information to women: The role of magazines. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 17, 137-145.

17.

Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. (2008). Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from http://health.gov/paguidelines/report/pdf/CommitteeReport.pdf

18.

QSR International. (2014). NVivo qualitative data analysis software (Version 10) [Computer software]. Burlington, MA: Author.

19.

Rainie

Zickuhr

Purcell

Madden

Brenner

(2012). The rise of e-reading. Retrieved from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/04/04/the-rise-of-e-reading/

20.

Redmund

Baer

H. J.

Clark

C. R.

Lipsitz

Hicks

L. S.

(2010). Sources of health information related preventive health behaviors in a national study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38, 620-627.

21.

Segar

Spruijt-Metz

Nolen-Hoeksema

(2006). Go figure? Body-shape motives are associated with decreased physical activity participation among midlife mothers. Sex Roles, 54, 178-187.

22.

Segar

M. L.

Eccles

J. S.

Richardson

C. R.

(2008). Type of physical activity goal influences participation in healthy midlife women. Women’s Health Issues, 18, 281-291.

23.

Theberge

(1991). A content analysis of print media coverage of gender, women and physical activity. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 3, 36-48.

24.

Turner

M. B.

Vader

A. M.

Walters

S. T.

(2008). An analysis of cardiovascular health information in popular young women’s magazines: What messages are women receiving? American Journal of Health Promotion, 22, 183-186.

25.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Current Population Survey: Table 1. Women by number of children ever born by race, Hispanic origin, nativity status, marital status, and age: June 2010. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/hhes/fertility/data/cps/2010.html

26.

White

M. D.

Marsh

E. E.

(2006). Content analysis: A flexible methodology. Library Trends, 55(1), 22-45.