Introduction Exercise is one of the factors that contribute to health, but the performance rate of exercise by women is lower than that of men. Assessment of various backgrounds and realization is necessary, when we discuss maintenance and improvement of women's health. Objective The objective of this research is to identify the factors that influence women's exercise status, how the exercises were began and continuation of the exercises, by focusing on the exercise, in order to construct strategies for middle-aged and older women's fitness. Method For 412 women who play Tai Chi Softball, a questionnaire was conducted regarding the motivation to start Tai Chi Softball, objectives, implementation status, effects, status of daily life, health conditions, and factors that affect the exercise. Survey results were categorized into four age groups (39 years old and younger, 40 years old through 59 years old, 60 years old through 69 years old, and 70 years old and older), and a chi-square test or Fisher's exact test were performed on relevance to each of the survey items. Results Players of Tai Chi Softball were mostly over 50 years old, with a large portion in their 60's. The ratio of people with BMI of 24.1 or more was 15.1%. The motivations to start Tai Chi Softball included "due to a health check", "encouraged by friends", and "having spare time", and "attractive instructors" for older people. Among the objectives to start Tai Chi Softball for ages of 60 and up, "to make friends and socialize with people" was at a high rate. The popular motivations to start exercise included "existence of classes and sport clubs nearby", "attractive instructor", and "appeared to be interesting". For the implementation of exercise, there were significant differences between "facilities and places", "easy access to equipment", and "friends to do exercise with". As for excuses like "limitation of time" and "too exhausted to do exercise" at work and home, people who exercise were in better condition than ones who do not exercise. Conclusion Factors that influence the formulation of fitness habits vary according to the characteristics of targets. Tai Chi Softball is one of effective fitness. Additionally, it was thought that the feeling of accomplishment, attractive instructors, and encouragement from friends and acquaintances were the factors that strongly influenced the fitness habits.
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