A new University of Michigan study finds that overweight men and women responded differently to advertisements about the benefits from exercise.

"Daily well-being" motivates women to exercise, while "weight loss" and "health" are more motivational for men. Researchers investigated whether reading a one-page advertisement featuring one of those three reasons would influence intrinsic motivation for exercising, and whether men and women respond differently. The study, funded by National Institutes of Health, was conducted among 1,690 overweight and obese women and men between 40 and 60 years old.

"Exercise is frequently prescribed as a way to lose weight," said Michelle Segar, associate director for the Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy (SHARP) Center for Women and Girls and research investigator at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender.

For more on this study, which was performed by a team that included Caroline Richardson, M.D., of U-M's Department of Family Medicine and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, follow this link.