Fitness Trainers’ Physical Attractiveness and Gym Goers’ Exercise Intention
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.4627.2022Keywords:
physical attractiveness, fitness, perceived traits, exercise intention, sports marketingAbstract
In line with the law of attraction, physical attractiveness has been widely used in marketing as well as advertising due to its potency in persuading consumers to take action. However, would physical attractiveness of a fitness trainer influence gym goers’ intention to exercise? This question motivated this research. Based on recent literature reviews, several research constructs were identified to form a research framework to investigate the physical attractiveness phenomena in the fitness industry. Hypothetically, the impact of the physical attractiveness of a fitness trainer on gym goers’ exercise intention is postulated to be mediated by trainer’s perceived expertise, trustworthiness, likeability and perceived health. Questionnaires were administered among gym-goers from 10 randomly selected fitness centres across three districts of Melaka State in Malaysia, and 192 final sample data were obtained. Data analysis reveals fitness trainer’s perceived expertise and likeability significantly mediates the relationship between the physical attractiveness of fitness trainers and gym goers’ exercise intention. Physical attractiveness of fitness trainers does impact the exercise intention of gym goers indirectly. Implications of the findings to theory and practice are also discussed in this paper, as well as suggestions for future studies.
References
Ahearne, M., Gruen, T. W., & Jarvis, C. B. (1999). If looks could sell. Moderation and mediation of the attractiveness effect on salesperson performance. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 16, 269-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8116(99)00014-2
An, H., Chen, W., Wang, C., Yang, H., Huang, W., & Fan. S. (2020). The relationships between physical activity and life satisfaction and happiness among young, middle-aged, and older adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(13), 4817. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134817
Baker, M. J., & Churchill, G. A. (1977). The impact of physically attractive models on advertising evaluations. Journal of Marketing Research, 14, 538-555. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224377701400411
Baniya, R. (2017). Components of celebrity endorsement affecting brand loyalty of Nepali customers. Journal of Business and Management Research, 2(1/2), 52-65. https://doi.org/10.3126/jbmr.v2i1-2.18151
Bashi, S. G., Hanzaee, K.H., & Nikoomaram, H. (2016). The effect of service contact personnel attributes on customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Journal of Marketing and Innovation Management, 2, 59-72.
Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York, U.S.A.: Wiley.
Boerner, P. R. (2013). The role of appearance in perceptions of personal trainers (Master's thesis). State University of New York College, U.S.A.
Bower, A. B. (2001). Highly attractive models in advertising and the women who loathe them: The implications of negative affect for spokesperson effectiveness. Journal of Advertising, 30, 51-63. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2001.10673645
Broers, D. J. (2020). The influence of review formats on consumers' purchasing intention of fitness supplements (Bachelor's essay). http://essay.utwente.nl/81796/
Caballero, M. J., Lumpkin, J.R., & Madden, C.S. (1989). Using physical attractiveness as an advertising tool: An empirical test of the attraction phenomenon. Journal of Advertising Research, 29(4), 16-22.
Chin, W. W. (2010). How to write up and report PLS analyses. In V. E. Vinzi, W. W. Chin, J. Henseler, & H. Wang (Eds.), Handbook of partial least squares (pp.655-690): Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-32827-8_29
Connelly, L. M. (2008). Pilot studies. Medsurg Nursing, 17(6), 411-2. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2008.17.7.29056
DeShields, O. W., Kara, A., & Kaynak, E. (1996). Source effects in purchase decisions: The impact of physical attractiveness and accent of salesperson. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13, 98-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8116(95)00036-4
Dion, K., Berscheid, E., & Walster, E. (1972). What is beautiful is good. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24, 285-290. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0033731
Dominski, F. H., & Brandt, R. (2020). Do the benefits of exercise in indoor and outdoor environments during the COVID‑19 pandemic outweigh the risks of infection? Sport Sciences for Health, 16, 583-588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-020-00673-z
Donaghue, N., & Allen, M. (2015). People don't care as much their health as they do about their looks: Personal trainers as intermediaries between aesthetic and health-based discourses of exercise participation and weight management. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 14(1), 42-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2015.1016086
Eagly, A. H., Ashmore, R. D., Makhijani, M. G., & Longo, L. C. (1991). What is beautiful is good, but…: A meta-analytic review of research on the physical attractiveness stereotype. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 109-128. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.109
Ebster, C., & Reisinger, H. (2006). How attractive should a salesperson be? Results of an experimental study. Journal in Finance, Marketing and Production, 23, 124-130.
Emerson, R. M. (1976). Social exchange theory. Annual Reviews of Sociology, 2, 335-362. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.02.080176.002003
Fernandez-Balboa, J., & Gonzalez-Calvo, G. (2017). A critical narrative analysis of the perspectives of the perspectives of the perspectives of physical trainers and fitness instructors in relation to their body image, professional practice and the consumer culture. Sport, Education and Society. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2017.1289910
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation modelling with unobservable variables and measurement errors: Algebra and Statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3), 328-388. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800313
Gadberry, K. L. (2009). An exploratory study of the relationship between exercise leader source credibility, participant self-efficacy and exercise adherence (Master's thesis). Texas A&M University, U.S.A.
Garber Jr., L. L., Honeycutt Jr., E. D., & Dotson, M. J. (2015). The use of personal appearance cues to infer sales rep character. International Journal of Management Practice, 8(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMP.2015.068319
Goh, L. S., Koh, C., & Nathan, R. J. (2012). Service Quality Dimensions and Tourist Satisfactions towards Melaka Hotels. International Journal of Economics and Management Engineering, 2(1), 26 - 32.
Görgényi, E. H., Nathan R. J, Farkas, M. F. (2021). Workplace Health Promotion, Employee Wellbeing and Loyalty during Covid-19 Pandemic - Large Scale Empirical Evidence from Hungary. Economies, 9(2), 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9020055
Hallgren, M., Owen, N., & Dunstan, D.W. (2020). Passive versus mentally active sedentary behaviors and depression. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 48(1), 20-27. https://doi.org/10.1249/JES.0000000000000211
Hamermesh, D. S., & Biddle, J. E. (1994). Beauty and the labor market. American Economic Review, 84(5), 1174-1194.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115-135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Hutson, D. J. (2013). Your body is your business card: Bodily capital and health authority in the fitness industry. Social Science and Medicine, 90, 63-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.05.003
Institute for Public Health. (2019). NCDs-Non-Communicable Diseases: Risk Factors and Health Problems.https://iku.moh.gov.my/images/IKU/Document/REPORT/NHMS2019/Report_NHMS2019-NCD_v2.pdf
Kilpatrick, M., & Hebert, E., & Bartholomew, J. (2005). College students' motivation for physical activity: Differentiating men's and women's motives for sport…Journal of American College Health, 54(2), 87-94. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.54.2.87-94
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford Press.
Lee, C. S., Chen, Y. C., Yu, T. H., & Tsui, P.L. (2012). Effect of physical attractiveness and customer perceived service quality in the cosmetology industry. African Journal of Business Management, 6(15), 5201-5207. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJBM11.2170
Low, D., Nathan, R., J., Gorgenyi-Hegyes, E., & Fekete-Farkas, M. (2021). The Demand for Life
Insurance in a Developing Country and the Mediating role of Persuasion. Journal of International Studies, 14(3), 138-154. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-8330.2021/14-3/9
Maguire, J. S. (2001). Fit and flexible: The fitness industry, personal trainers and emotional service labor. Sociology of Sport Journal, 18, 379-402. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.18.4.379
Mears, J. (2007). Perception of group exercise participants based on body type, appearance and attractiveness of the instructor. University of South Florida, U.S.A.
Melton, D., Dall, T. K., & Katula, J. A. (2011). Women's perspectives of personal trainers: A qualitative study. Sport J., 14(1), 1-18. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4439248/pdf/nihms679785.pdf
Morgenstern, K. (2016). How does a personal trainers' appearance impact how potential clients perceive them? (Master's Projects). Bowling Green State University, U.S.A.
Nathan, R. J., Victor, V., Gan, C. L., & Kot, S. (2019). Electronic Commerce for Home-Based Businesses in Emerging and Developed Economy. Eurasian Business Review, 9(4), 463-483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-019-00124-x
Nathan, R. J., Victor, V., Tan, M., & Farkas, M. F. (2020). Tourists' Use of Airbnb App for Visiting a Historical City. Information Technology and Tourism, 22(2), 217-242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-020-00176-0
Nathan R. J, Soekmawati, V., Popp J., Farkas, M. F., & Olah, J. (2021). Food Innovation Adoption and Organic Food Consumerism-A Cross National Study between Malaysia and Hungary. Foods, 10(2), 363-385. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020363
Nguyen, N. T. (2021). The influence of celebrity endorsement on young Vietnamese consumers' purchasing intention. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(1), 951-960.
Norouzi, A., Hanzaee, K. H., & Nikoomaram, H. (2015). The Antecedents of in-store experience: Experimental study. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Science, 4(1), 2029-2050.
Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorser's perceived experience, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of Advertising, 19, 39-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1990.10673191
Patzer, G. (2013). Physical attractiveness: Uncertainty of the presumptive causal direction. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 12(12), 1-9.
Pell, C., Allotey, P., Evans, N., Hardon, A., Imelda, J. D., Soyiri, I., & Reidpath, D. D. (2016). Coming of age, becoming obese: A cross-sectional analysis of obesity among adolescents and young adults in Malaysia. BMC Public Health, 16, 1082-1091. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3746-x
Phillips, J. M., & Drummond, M. J. (2001). An investigation into the body image perception, body satisfaction and exercise expectations of male fitness leaders: Implication for professional practice. Leisure Studies, 20, 95-105. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614360121879
Polman, R. (2004). Physical self-perception and body composition in fitness instructors, regular exercisers and non-exercisers. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243458009_Physical_self-perceptions_and_body_composition_in_fitness_instructors_regular_exercisers_and_non-exercisers
Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). Gain more insight from your PLS-SEM results. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(9),1865-1886. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-10-2015-0449
Rotwein, R. (2003). Is the trainers they see the trainers they get? Do your "looks" attract or detract when viewed by potential clients?. IDEA Health Fitness Source. http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/is-the-trainers-they-see-the-trainers-they-get
Silvera, D. H., & Austad, B. (2003). Factors predicting the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement advertisements. European Journal of Marketing, 38(11/12), 1509-1526. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560410560218
Statista. (2020). Fitness: Malaysia. https://www.statista.com/outlook/313/122/fitness/malaysia
Stubbs, B., Koyanagi, A., Hallgren, M., Firth, J., Richards, J., Schuch, F., Rosenbaum, S., Mugisha, J., Veronese, N., Jouni Lahti, J., & Vancampfort, D. (2017). Physical activity and anxiety: a perspective from the World Health Survey, Journal of Affective Disorders, 208, 545-552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.10.028
Swami, V., Einon, D., & Furnham, A. (2007). Cultural significance of leg-to-body ratio preferences? Evidence from Britain and rural Malaysia. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 10(4), 265-269. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-839X.2007.00235.x
Thompson, W. R. (2019). Worldwide survey of fitness trends for 2020. ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal, 23(6), 10-18. https://doi.org/10.1249/FIT.0000000000000526
Till, B. D., & Busler, M. (2013). The match-up hypothesis: Physical attractiveness, expertise, and the role of fit on brand attitude, purchase intent and brand beliefs. Journal of Advertising, 29(3), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2000.10673613
Wellness Creative Co. (2020, September 30). Fitness Industry Statistics: Growth, Trends & Research Stats 2020. https://www.wellnesscreatives.com/fitness-industry-statistics-growth/
World Health Organisation. (WHO) (2019). Malaysia and WHO Call for More Investment in Primary Health Care the 21st Century. https://www.who.int/malaysia/news/detail/08-04-2019-malaysia-and-who-call-for-more-investment-in-primary-health-care-the-21st-century
Wright, J., O'Flynn, G., & Macdonald, D. (2006). Being fit and looking healthy: Young women's and men's constructions of health and fitness. Sex Roles, 54, 707-716. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9036-9
Wu, I. H. C., Strong, L. L., Nguyen, N. T., Cho, D., John, J., & McNeill, L. H. (2019). Psychosocial stressors, depression, and physical activity among African Americans. American Journal of Health Behavior, 43(4), 717-728. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.43.4.6
Wu, K. K. W., & Li, Y. (2013). Measuring the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer behavioural intentions: A study of Malaysian consumers. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 14(3), 2-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-14-03-2013-B002
Yeh, W. C., Lee, C. C., Yu, C., Wu, P. S., Chang, J. Y., & Huang, J. H. (2020). The impact of the physical attractiveness and intellectual competence on loyalty. Sustainability, 12, 3970. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12103970
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
