Literature review

The health and lifestyle benefits of regular physical activity are well known, and are often identified as key motivators for being active. ‘Regular participation in physical activity has been shown to improve overall health and is also associated with reduced chronic disease risk’ (George, Kolt, Rosenkranz & Guagliano, 2013). Barriers to, and motivators for, participating in regular physical activity vary within and between populations. ‘Exercise requires focused energy and often cannot be combined with other activities or with the care of children’ (Nomaguchi & Kei, 2004).
‘For married men having a partner can lead to a decrease in physical activity, which could be due to the demands of the spousal role and the social and domestic responsibilities of marriage, such as an increase in paid work hours’ (Rapp, Schneider, 2013). ‘Marriage interferes with independent leisure partly because marriage increases paid work hours for men’ (Nomaguchi, et al, 2004). ‘Marriage assumes a certain commitment to a spouse, to a spouse's family and relatives, and a willingness to coordinate and negotiate about how time is spent’ (Nomaguchi, et al, 2004). A further reason according to Nomaguchi and Kei (2004) is because they are no longer looking to find a partner. In this view, they are stating that individuals exercise to become slim and more attractive to potential partners. Recently the amount of time married fathers devote to childcare has increased substantially. ‘Scheduling constraints, guilt related to family and taking care of them, lacking a ‘community’ of others to be active with, are all other factors which cause married men not to participate in regular physical activity’ (Mailey, Huberty, Dinkel, McAuley, 2014).
In summary, common barriers to being physical active for men are time, access, family, work commitments, associated costs, stress, lack of motivation and a lack of convenient opportunities. Factors such as inadequate health, lack of motivation, laziness, and disability or injury have also been cited as reasons for not engaging in