Examination of the relationship between fitness center users’ attitudes to healthy nutrition and muscle appearance satisfaction

Abstract

Study aim(s): This research was conducted to determine the use of fitness centers for healthy eating and their satisfaction with muscle appearance. Methods: The sample of the study consisted of a total of 393 volunteer participants who were members of a fitness center. Data were collected by online survey method. In addition to the Personal Information Form, the "Attitude Scale towards Healthy Eating" developed by Tekkurşun Demir and Cicioğlu (2019) and the "Muscle Appearance Satisfaction Scale" developed by Selvi and Bozo (2020) were used to collect the data. In the analysis of normally distributed data, independent samples t-test was used for pairwise comparisons, and Oneway ANOVA was used for the comparison of more than two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between variables. Results: According to the research findings, while the participants' attitudes toward healthy eating differ significantly according to the number of exercise days per week, they do not differ according to gender, educational status, and occupation. In addition, while muscle appearance satisfaction scores differed significantly according to gender and the number of exercise days per week, there was no significant difference in terms of occupation and education variables. As a result of the correlation analysis, no significant relationship was found between the participants' attitudes toward healthy eating and muscle appearance satisfaction. Conclusions: It can be thought that fitness center users should be conscious about healthy eating and thus they can have better muscle appearance satisfaction.