The Effect of a Pilates Exercise Session on Positive Emotions of Obese Women: The Study of the Interaction of Situational Motivation and Perceived Intensity of Exercise to Predict Positive Emotions

The motivation for various activities is strongly influenced by individual perceptions of one’s activities toward those activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between situational motivation and perceived intensity of exercise in obese women to predict a change in positive effect from a Pilates exercise session. In this quasi-experimental study, 17 obese women with a mean weight of 87.4 ± 0.10, age 39.10 ± 10.0, and a body mass index of 35.9 ± 3.5 voluntarily participated. They responded to the positive affective questionnaire and situational motivation scale before the exercise program. Then performed Pilates training and immediately after the training, they again completed the positive affective questionnaire. The perceived was also measured after exercise. Data were analyzed by paired t-test and hierarchical regression. The results showed a significant difference in the level of positive affect after-before exercise (P≤0.05). Predictive regression analysis was a positive effect on the interaction of internal motivation and perceived severity, as well as their interaction with the identified adjustment factor (P≤0.05). The current findings showed that Pilates exercises improve positive effect in obese women, also internal motivation was seen to be a strong predictor. According to the finding, strengthening the internal motivation in obese women is recommended for physical activity and attaining the positive effect of it.