Exploring the Relationship Between Physical Activity Knowledge, Health Outcomes Expectancies, and Behavior

Abstract

Background: Despite clear health benefits of physical activity, previous research has been limited in linking knowledge of physical activity recommendations to actual behavior. Methods: Using Expectancy Theory, we examined whether an individual's health outcome expectancies from physical activity might provide the missing link between knowledge and behavior. With data from a cross-sectional survey, we assessed differences between how much moderate physical activity people thought they needed for health benefits compared with what they thought experts recommended and the relationship of these differences to physical activity behaviors. Results: Our hypothesis that people with positive health outcome expectancies would report more minutes of physical activity than those with neutral or negative health outcome expectancies was supported for all self-reported physical activity behaviors (P < .001). Conclusions: It appears that the health outcome expectancy of needing more physical activity than recommended by experts is correlated with achieving more physical activity, regardless of type. Future research should address health outcome expectancies as a way to impact physical activity.

Zika, Public Health, and Future Professionals: An Assessment of Student Knowledge, Media Utilization and Health Literacy Levels

“…Study participants reported higher incomes and educational levels, as well as higher self-reported health literacy rates than national averages. Previous studies have linked higher education levels with higher health knowledge [15][16][17][18]. The lack of Zika knowledge among the educated respondents from this study confirms the continued need for improved education for future professionals about Zika and other public health issues.…”

Associations between perceived and observational physical environmental factors and the use of walking paths: a cross-sectional study

“…In females, knowledge of physical activity was the factor that influenced walking path use significantly. Other studies also found that knowledge of physical activity was correlated with increased physical activity [39]. A possible explanation for this gender-specific observation is that females were more likely to listen to health-related advice than males.…”

Awareness of knowledge and practice regarding physical activity: A population-based prospective, observational study among students in Nanjing, China

“…All previous studies have had a cross-sectional design and only three recruited chidlren as participants [16–20]. Of the three studies conducted among children, two reported a positive relationship between awareness of knowledge [18, 19] and PA engagement, while one documented no association between knowledge and PA [20]. In contrast with these previous studies, our study was a population-based prospective study with follow-up conducted 9 months after baseline, a large sample size (n = 1859), and both PA frequency and duration assessed using a validated questionnaire.…”