An objective measure of reinforcement and its implications for exercise promotion in sedentary hispanic and anglo women

Abstract

An objective measure for the assessment of exercise and sedentary activity choices was evaluated for reliability in 38 sedentary women, aged 18-45, in El Paso, TX. Twenty-two Hispanic women and 16 Anglo women participated. An equal number of obese and nonobese women comprised each group of participants. Using five computer-generated slot machine games, participants were allowed to earn points for access to a bicycle/stair stepper or videos/magazines. Exercise alternatives remained easily accessible while the sedentary choices became progressively difficult to access. Two sessions were completed at least 2 weeks apart for reliability. Reliability for choosing to be physically active from session to session was rI = .83 for all participants, rI = .90 for Hispanics, and rI = .74 for Anglos. Hispanic women earned twice the number of points for access to exercise (m = 20 ± 2; 40% of the available points) as Anglo women (m = 10 ± 3; 20% of the available points), independent of body mass index (BMI) or socioeconomic status (SES). Hispanic women's choices to exercise were independent of acculturation level; however, Hispanic women of higher SES and lower BMI chose to exercise more than Hispanic women of lower SES and higher BMI. Hispanic women may find exercise more reinforcing than Anglo women, which has important implications for exercise interventions. In addition, results indicated that self-reported liking and enjoyment of exercise were not related to the choice to actually engage in exercise. The behavioral economic methods presented in this study provide preliminary results to support the use of an objective, reliable method to assess the determinants of exercise and sedentary activity choices in sedentary, Hispanic and Anglo women.