Background: Understanding the contextual preferences that people have for engaging in a health-enhancing physical activity has been identified as particularly important, as these preferences have been implicated in the maintenance of active lifestyle behaviors.
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to examine adults' preferences for exercising in both gender-segregated and gender-integrated physical activity groups. The secondary purpose was to examine whether overweight status moderates adults' preferences for gender-segregated groups relative to gender-integrated groups.
Method: Survey data were obtained from a representative sample of 772 adults (N (males) = 407; N (females) = 365) in a large city in the United Kingdom.
Results: Males and females reported a stronger preference for exercising with members of their own gender relative to exercising in gender-integrated groups. In addition, overweight participants were found to report an accentuated relative preference for gender-segregated groups when compared to normal weight respondents.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that both within-group gender composition and overweight status should be considered as salient contextual factors when attempting to implement successful group-based exercise programs.