Influence of patriarchy on the practice of physical exercise in older adults

This study was carried out to try to understand what are the factors related to the macho culture that affect the practice of physical exercise in older adults. Four focus groups were carried out in different socioeconomic contexts with a total of 39 older adults residing in Spain. The methodological analysis is inductive, emergent, delimiting the discourses of the study participants from the specific to the general, through the coding process of grounded theory. The differences between contexts in four subtopics of patriarchal culture and their influence according to educational level, time after retirement, family responsibilities and marital support were presented. Older women are a vulnerable group in the face of machismo since they present greater risk and complexity to stop these already ingrained customs, assuming a clear barrier when starting the practice of physical exercise.