Exercise as a health-promoting lifestyle choice.

The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to examine differences between exercisers and nonexercisers in self-esteem, perceived benefits of exercise, and perceived barriers to exercise. Second, we investigated how much variation in group membership as an exerciser or nonexerciser could be explained by the relationship among self-esteem, perceived benefits of exercise, and perceived barriers to exercise. A sample of 105 university students completed four questionnaires. Using t tests, a significant difference was found between exercisers and nonexercisers on self-esteem, perceived benefits of exercise, and perceived barriers to exercise. It was found that the three variables successfully accounted for 32% of the variation in group membership as an exerciser or nonexerciser.