Tel Aviv, like other metropolitan cities in developed countries,

Tel Aviv, like other metropolitan cities in developed countries, is characterised by a relatively open and www.selleckchem.com/products/VX-770.html liberal attitude towards MSM, thus it attracts most of the MSM-related activities in the country,16 in bars, parties and other venues,

such as gyms. Participants Men living in central Israel who had trained for more than a month in one of the selected gyms, who were older than 18 years, and who reported more than one act of sexual intercourse in the preceding 6 months were eligible for this convenience sampling study. Participants were asked to complete details on their sexual activities in the preceding 6 months. They were categorised as MSM if they performed sex (oral/anal intercourse) with other men, and as heterosexual if they performed sex (oral/vaginal/anal intercourse) exclusively with women. Those who reported sexual contact with both men and women were considered to be MSM in this study. Recruitment Gyms were visited using venue-based, time–space sampling methods,17 as the days and the times of visits were selected at random to include different days of the week and different hours of the day. A minimal sample size of 364 was required to allow a 5% difference in unprotected sex

between MSM and heterosexual men in New York gyms,18 considering type 1 and 2 errors of 5% and 20%, respectively. Male gym attendees were approached by one researcher (KP) and asked to complete the study questionnaire (see online supplementary appendix 1). Questionnaire After they had provided informed consent, participants individually gave their demographic characteristics and responded anonymously to 82 questions about their health and sexual behaviour, body image attributes, gym exercise pattern, reason for training, knowledge about HIV transmission, and other attitudes and beliefs about sexual-risk behaviour. Variables The first outcome variable was

high-risk sexual behaviour, a self-report of at least one episode of unprotected anal or vaginal Entinostat intercourse in the preceding 6 months with a partner whose HIV status was unknown or discordant.19 The second outcome variable was the intensity of IAT, defined as more than the median number of anaerobic training hours a week practised by all the study participants. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from self-reported height and weight, which could be confirmed using the gym’s scales and measures during completion of the questionnaires. To evaluate indirectly the strength of motivation to achieve an attractive masculine body physique, participants were asked to imagine whether they would prefer to be rich or muscular, and similarly to decide between being rich and having a smooth body (Cronbach’s α=0.87 and 0.76, respectively).

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