Scare tactics get the obese to exercise

ALMOST scaring people to death may be the best way to persuade the unfit and obese to take exercise.

They are more motivated to exercise when warned about the risk of illness and death if they are inactive, a study found.

These warnings work better than telling them about obesity rates, the stigma of being overweight or the financial cost of failing to exercise.

Researchers surveyed 669 volunteers on their motivation to use a fitness app, doing press-ups and squats at home. The participants ranked their motivation to start exercising using the app – and to keep going with it – after reading five health messages.

Both men and women were most motivated after reading about the risk of death and illness, according to the study from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

These messages included the statistic that 6% of the world’s deaths are caused by physical inactivity and the quote attributed to the 19th century British prime minister Edward Smith-Stanley: ‘Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.’ Researcher Dr Kiemute Oyibo said: ‘I did not expect only illness and death-related messages to be significant and motivational.’

He added: ‘This study is important because it helps us – especially designers of health apps – understand the types of messages that individuals, regardless of gender, are likely to be motivated by in persuasive health communication.’

The health messages that did not work as well as the threat of death and illness told participants the rate of obesity in their country, the cost to the taxpayer from physical inactivity, and the enormous stigma that the obese could face.

The study, published in the journal Information, found that those more motivated to use the fitness app by illness had higher expectations for the effects of being active – for example, that it might improve their ability to perform daily tasks.

They were also more likely to believe they could exercise even when dealing with issues such as being tired, busy or depressed. In a questionnaire, those more encouraged to get moving by the threat of illness and death were more likely to say that they had set exercise goals and made plans to achieve them.

However, the study did not look at the amount of exercise people actually did following the health messages.

The threat of death and illness is rarely studied in relation to persuading people to exercise, although it has been researched in relation to whether it stops them smoking or sending text messages while driving.

‘Significant and motivational’