ABSTRACT
This chapter examines underappreciated magnitude of the problem of exercise non-participation and avoidance among individuals who are obese. It presents the basic postulates of hedonic theory as the general conceptual framework from which people approach the empirical evidence and derive practice recommendations. The chapter reviews research demonstrating how specific components of the exercise stimulus and the social environment in which it is embedded may generate negative affective and emotional experiences for obese participants. It speculates that a conglomeration of physiological, biomechanical, and psychological factors associated with obesity can contribute to making the exercise experience less pleasant overall for obese individuals than for their non-obese counterparts. The source of the belief that exercise is supposed to be difficult or painful can probably be traced to culturally imposed norms and social models. Living in a cultural environment replete with anti-obesity stereotypes and coming in contact with professionals who endorse these stereotypes results, in internalization of the bias among obese individuals.
