Can Assessing Physical Activity Liking Identify Opportunities to Promote Physical Activity Engagement and Healthy Dietary Behaviors?

Abstract

Improving our understanding of what physical activities are enjoyed and the factors that are associated with physical activity liking can promote participation in regular physical activity. We aimed to study physical activity (PA) liking in college women by modelling interactions between body size perception and dietary behaviors on PA liking, and by examining discrepancies between PA liking versus engagement on body size perception and dietary behaviors. Women (n = 251; 74% white) utilized an online survey to report their level of liking for PA types (scored into a PA liking index) and frequency of PA participation. They also reported their perceived body size, level of dietary restraint, and frequency of consuming foods (scored into a diet quality index). In multivariate analyses, a greater perceived body size was directly associated with lower PA liking and indirectly through greater dietary restraint but lower diet quality. Healthiest dietary behaviors were reported by women who both liked and engaged in PA. Women who reported high PA liking but low PA participation reported a higher dietary restraint and lower diet quality. These findings support the empowerment of women across all body sizes to identify physical activities that they enjoy. Health promotion efforts should encourage women to couple physical activity liking and engagement with a healthy level of dietary restraint and consumption of a healthy diet.

Feasibility of a Theory-Based, Online Tailored Message Program to Motivate Healthier Behaviors in College Women

“…This online tailored message program utilized the IMB framework to adapt an evidence-based program, originally conducted with children their parents/caregivers [ 31 ] or children in a middle school setting [ 32 ], for college students. The program consisted of a validated survey assessing liking/disliking of usual diet and physical activity behaviors [ 46 , 82 , 83 ], questions assessing current health knowledge and behaviors [ 72 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 ], and tailored messages driven by response to the liking survey (food and physical activity), intuitive eating, stress, and sleep. Following the IMB framework, the program assessed knowledge/information of participants through: (1) baseline knowledge related to message Information and responses to each message; (2) reported Information learned; (3) Motivation on how much they would like to try/continue targeted behavior; and (4) Behavioral Skills by assessing confidence/self-efficacy to try/continue the targeted behavior.…”

“…A proxy of physical activity and dietary behaviors was captured using a previously validated, online liking survey for college-aged individuals [ 46 , 82 , 83 ]. Each activity, food or beverage item was each shown as an image and text label to the left of a horizontal, hedonic scale with five faces and corresponding descriptors of “love it”, “like it”, “it’s okay”, “dislike it”, and “hate it”, and a slider allowing a continuous rating from ±100.…”

“…Assessment of individual food preferences and physical activity though surveying likes/dislikes is a feasible way to measure behavior in young adults/college students as it is cognitively simple, less biased by misreporting [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], and has a low time burden [ 47 ]. Messages can be tailored to participant reported preferences to help encourage or motivate behavior change.…”

“…Factors such as body size perception and dietary restraint influence women’s health behaviors [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ] and may influence their response to the messages and impact their motivation or confidence for behavior change [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Evidence suggests intersecting relationships between body size perception, dietary restraint, diet quality and physical activity in young women, where body size perception or dietary restraint influence eating behaviors, diet quality and physical activity [ 21 , 46 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 ].…”

Nutrition and Physical Exercise in Women

“…Participation in physical activity is associated with a better body size perception but not in a consistent way. In this line, Hubert et al [ 12 ] reported that collegiate women ( n = 251; 74% white), who perceived greater body size, reported less liking of physical activity as well as less healthy dietary behaviours. Additionally, women whom both liked and engaged in physical activities had a lower body size perception and healthier diet quality.…”