Even though most adults in the United States understand the contributions of regular exercise associated with reduced risks for CHD, hypertension, Type II diabetes, osteoporosis, and even some forms of cancer, research continues to show that only a small percentage of the adult population is physically active at the recommended frequency, duration, and intensity. Low participation in exercise programs and low persistence in exercise programs clearly point out the need for a better understanding of the reasons individuals participate in an exercise program. This investigation examined the level of importance current participants in organized exercise programs placed on six different reasons. Among 307 respondents, 21% were from a university exercise clinic (n=63), 56% were from a commercial fitness club (n=172), and 23% were from a community park and recreation wellness center (n=71%). For the total sample, 95% of the respondents self-identified as Caucasian, and 69% were female. Average age was 48 years with a range of 17 to 83 years. A revised Reasons for Exercise Inventory (Silberstein et al., 1988) consisting of 18 items measuring six different reasons for exercise involvement (weight control, fitness, mood, attractiveness, health, and enjoyment); each represented with three items. A 7-point Likert-type scale from 1 (not at all important) to 7 (very important) was utilized. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's alpha for each of the subscales and coefficients ranged from .70 to .91. The means for the total sample were all above the scale midpoint and ranged from 5.44 for weight control to 6.25 for fitness. MANOVA results for the main effects of participant gender (F=5.63, p<.00) and age group (F=3.90, p<.00) as well as the interaction effect for gender and age (F=2.62, p<00) were statistically significant. Examination of the univariate results showed significant differences for the importance given to three of the six subscales; fitness, enjoyment, and mood. In each instance, females indicated more importance than males. For age, significant differences were found for only two of the six subscales; attraction and enjoyment. Age differences for the importance of attraction displayed a linear relationship with importance decreasing with age. Interesting, the age differences for enjoyment displayed a curvelinear relationship with less importance given among the youngest and oldest age groups. Significant interaction effects were found for only one subscale, enjoyment. This significant interaction effect seems to be directly related to the low level of importance place on enjoyment among young male participantsKeyword(s): adult fitness, exercise/fitness