Physical Activity Maintenance: A Critical Narrative Review and Directions for Future Research

Abstract

A clear rationale can be made for promoting long-term regular physical activity (PA), yet despite some attempts to operationalize “maintenance,” no robust definition has been agreed upon, beyond arbitrary time frames of regular PA. This has likely impaired the advancement of theory and practice. The purpose of this critical narrative review was to first overview the conception of maintenance and co-requisite theoretical constructs in theories used in PA research. Our subsequent aims were to engage in a critical analysis of this literature to propose a working definition of PA maintenance followed by recommendations for future research. Relevant behavioral theories were parsed for references to maintenance or maintenance-specific constructs and constructs most likely associated with maintenance were overviewed from a recent systematic review. Based on this information, we suggest PA maintenance be operationalized as a process marked by a shift in the mechanisms of action determining behavioral performance, that engender greater perceived behavioral enactment efficiency. We suggest that maintenance should not be considered an absolute state of behavioral performance (e.g., a stage), as some constructs that were critical to behavioral performance during initiation will still be critical during PA continuation. Based on this definition, we propose a method of falsifiability hypothesis testing of theoretical constructs that may determine the maintenance process. Finally, the review concludes with suggestions for future research using this operationalization of maintenance including measure development, tests of latency to reach the peak maintenance process, validating constructs critical to determining maintenance, exploration of the contextual and individual moderators of maintenance formation, and the development of an omnibus dynamic model of initiation, continuation, and maintenance in PA behavior change.

Identifying as someone who avoids virus transmission strengthens physical distancing habit‐behaviour relationships: A longitudinal multi‐national study during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…These findings extend on a building body of evidence that considered the impact of habit and identity on behaviour at a between‐person level (e.g. Carfora et al, 2017 ; Charng et al, 1988 ; Gardner, de Bruijn, & Lally, 2012 ; Lally et al, 2010 ), and theoretical notions that identity and habit play roles in behavioural change and maintenance (Rhodes et al, 2021 ; Rhodes & Sui, 2021 ; Verplanken & Sui, 2019 ). Additionally, the study extends on a building body of evidence revealing that habit strength is an important predictor of physical distancing behaviour (Hagger et al, 2020 , 2021 ).…”

“…Gardner & Lally, 2013 ; Kaushal et al, 2018 ; Luyckx et al, 2008 ; Tilden et al, 2005 ). Although the roles of identity and habit have been theorised and evidenced as essential for maintained behaviour change (Rhodes et al, 2021 ; Rhodes & Sui, 2021 ; Verplanken & Sui, 2019 ), this is the first study to demonstrate there is synergy at play between habit and identity in influence on behaviour. Our findings suggest that habit strength comes into play most for people without strong identities relevant to that behaviour.…”

Multi-Process Action Control in Physical Activity: A Primer

“…However, identity may also playback into regulatory processes by bolstering the motivation to use tactics to fulfil PA intentions ( Rhodes et al, 2021 ). Overall, the formation of habit and identity are proposed to engender sustained action control through greater enactment efficiency (see right aligned categories in Figure 1 ), in part by replacing the use of regulatory processes ( Rhodes and Sui, 2021 ) and lessening the cognitive demands of reflective processes ( Caldwell et al, 2018 ).…”

Personality-Related Determinants of Physical Activity Among Polish and Spanish Physical Education Students

“…The effectiveness of the work of teachers in the field of health education depends, among others, on their individual commitment to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, which is an important area of physical activity. In this context, it is worth paying attention to publications on the theoretical foundations of promoting and consolidating physical activity in the lifestyle of individuals ( Rhodes et al, 2019 , 2021 ; Rhodes and Sui, 2021 ) and on the relationships among neuroeducation, motivation, and the physical activity of PE students ( Baena-Extremera et al, 2021 ).…”