Your local gym is likely filled with more women, even those over 65,  lifting weights, as the desire for more attractive and healthy bodies and the worries about bone loss grow in their minds.

"Women see this as an ideal they'd like to achieve, and it makes weight-training more approachable to women," says Teresa Moore, an exercise science expert at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says one out of every five women is pumping iron at least twice a week, but researchers want to see that number climb much higher by 2010. 

In the first of its kind to look at the prevalence of weightlifting and strength training, a CDC study shows:

•  nearly 18 percent of women were lifting weights in 2004, compared to 14.5 percent in 1998;

•  the percentage of men doing the same remained constant - nearly 22 percent;

•  more women over 65 are performing strength training - 11 percent in 2004 compared with 7 percent in 1998;

•  the number of strength-training men over 65 rose to 14 percent in 2004, an increase from 11 percent in 1998.

Twice-weekly workouts 

The CDC and groups like the American College of Sports Medicine believe that adults should perform strength-training exercises at least twice a week. Fitness experts say strength training, along with healthy eating, is integral to your effective weight-management program.

However, only 20 percent of adults work out twice a week. The CDC wants to boosts that number to 30 percent.

"A lot of people are still electing to stay home and play computer games and video games rather than get out and exercise," Moore says.

However, researchers expect the numbers to climb, thanks, in part, to magazines like Oxygen and Shape that emphasize exercise and having good-looking and healthy bodies.

In addition, more women are worried about getting osteoporosis - or "brittle bones" - when they get older and believe getting in shape now will thwart the condition, says Judy Kruger, a CDC epidemiologist who led weight-lifting study.

From schools to community centers

Kruger and her research team recommend that if you want to start a strength-training program or boost the one you're already doing, get a friend, coworker, spouse or a neighbor to also participate and provide encouragement and motivation.

 "Additional opportunities for adults to engage in strength training (e.g. in places where adults already pursue leisure-time activity, such as schools and community centers) could increase the prevalence of strength training," researchers say, in the study. "The findings in this report also underscore the need to increase education on the benefits of strength training among targeted adult populations.

"Strength training throughout life can sustain functional independence for activities of daily living, such as the ability to carry groceries, rise from a chair, or walk up a flight of stairs."

The study, which was based on surveys of more than 30,000 American adults, is published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report  for the week of July 17.

This article includes information from The Associated Press.

Nubella News, a division of Marketing Technology Solutions, Inc., offers content intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We encourage our readers to seek prompt medical care for health issues and consult their physicians before starting a new diet, fitness regimen, or medical treatment.