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Do implicit attitudes toward physical activity and sedentary behavior prospectively predict objective physical activity among persons with obesity?

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Abstract

This study conducted among adults with obesity examined the associations between implicit attitudes toward physical activity and sedentary behavior, and physical activity behavior measured 4 months later. At baseline, 76 participants (M AGE = 56; M BMI = 39.1) completed a questionnaire assessing intentions toward physical activity and sedentary behavior and two computerized Single-Category Implicit Association Tests assessing implicit attitudes toward these two behaviors. At follow-up, physical activity was measured with accelerometers. Multiple regression analysis showed that implicit attitudes toward physical activity were positively and significantly associated with physical activity when participants’ age, BMI, past physical activity and intentions were controlled for. Implicit attitudes toward sedentary behavior were not associated with physical activity. Adults with obesity who implicitly reported more favorable attitudes toward physical activity at baseline were more likely to present higher physical activity levels at follow-up. Implicit attitudes could be targeted in future research to enhance physical activity.

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Notes

  1. Additional regression models are provided in supplemental data. In accordance with dual-process assumptions (Perugini, 2005), we examined potential interactions between explicit and implicit motivational processes. No interaction was significant. We also examined the associations between the four motivational variables and Time 2 physical activity without controlling for age, BMI and past physical activity. The model was significant F (4, 74) = 3.07, p = .022, adjusted R 2 = .10; implicit attitudes toward physical activity and sedentary behavior were significantly associated with Time 2 physical activity (β = .23, p = .05, β = −.26, p = .04, respectively), as well as intentions toward sedentary behavior (β = .24, p = .05). Intentions toward physical activity were not significantly associated with physical activity (β = −.03, p = .78).

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Acknowledgements

Guillaume Chevance is funded by a grant from the French Agency for Research and Technology (ANRT). This study has received financial support from the fundation APARD and the region Occitanie. The authors wish to thank Marie-Ange Dubois for her help in the follow-up phase, as well as La Poste for their support all along the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory Epsylon, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Guillaume Chevance & Julie Boiché

  2. Les Cliniques du Souffle ®, Groupe 5 Santé, Toulouges, France

    Guillaume Chevance, Thomas Henry, Philippe Guerin & Nelly Héraud

  3. Laboratoire sur les Vulnérabilités et l’Innovation sur le Sport, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France

    Johan Caudroit

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  1. Guillaume Chevance
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Correspondence to Guillaume Chevance.

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Guillaume Chevance, Johan Caudroit, Thomas Henry, Philippe Guerin, Julie Boiché and Nelly Héraud declare that they have no conflicts of interest in the present research.

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This study was approved by the ethical committee: 5 Santé. All procedures were in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants before being included in the study.

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Chevance, G., Caudroit, J., Henry, T. et al. Do implicit attitudes toward physical activity and sedentary behavior prospectively predict objective physical activity among persons with obesity?. J Behav Med 41, 31–42 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-017-9881-8

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