Limited research has examined the determinants of eating attitudes among both adolescent boys and girls. The aims of this study were to examine the extent to which depressive symptoms, body ...satisfaction, and physical activity (PA) predict eating attitudes in adolescent boys and girls, and to determine the moderating influences of sex and body mass index (BMI).
The participants (N = 646 adolescent boys and girls; mean age 14.28 years; 49% boys) completed self-reported measures of their depressive symptoms, body satisfaction, leisure-time PA, and eating attitudes during their high school health and physical education classes.
Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that: (1) BMI, depressive symptoms, body satisfaction, PA, and their interaction terms explained 14% and 17% of the variance in eating attitudes for boys and girls, respectively; (2) BMI moderated the contributions of body satisfaction and PA for predicting eating attitudes such that overweight boys scored lower on body satisfaction and higher on PA than normal-weight boys; and (3) BMI did not moderate the contributions of any of the psychobehavioral constructs for predicting eating attitudes among girls.
Our findings illustrate that eating attitudes are determined differently for boys and girls, and the findings demonstrate the need for sex-specific interventions to promote healthy eating attitudes and behaviors during adolescence.
Limited research examines women's beliefs about the value of exercise and their actual exercise behaviors during pregnancy and postpartum. A retrospective study of 74 postpartum women was conducted ...to examine women's behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about exercising during pregnancy and postpartum and to determine their most salient beliefs. In addition, women's prepregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum exercise behavior was examined. We found that 1) the most common exercise beliefs during pregnancy were that exercise improves mood and physical limitations (e.g., nausea) obstructed exercise participation; 2) the most common exercise beliefs during postpartum were that exercise controls weight gain and a lack of time obstructed exercise participation; 3) women's husband/partner and family members most strongly influenced their pregnancy and postpartum exercise behavior; and 4) women exercised more before they were pregnant than during pregnancy and postpartum. Researchers and health care professionals are encouraged to examine and understand women's beliefs about exercising during their pregnancy and postpartum and design their interventions accordingly, in an attempt to increase women's exercise behavior during their childbearing years.
Building upon previous research examining the Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1986), this paper presents two studies on the development and validation of a Temptation To Not Exercise ...Scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses results showed evidence of two factors, labeled Affect and Competing Demands, which had adequate internal consistency scores. Additional validity of the temptation constructs was demonstrated by the significant decrease of the Affect and Competing Demands scores across the stages of change and the negative relationship between self-efficacy and the Affect and Competing Demands scores. The Temptation to Not Exercise Scale may represent a useful component in the application of the Transtheoretical Model to help understand, predict, and explain exercise behavior.
Pregnancy is associated with numerous physical and psychological demands that may reduce women's exercise behavior; however, the research examining women's behaviors, attitudes, and cognitions during ...pregnancy is scant. Consequently, there is a need for research that theoretically examines the determinants of exercising during pregnancy. The general objective of this dissertation was to examine the predictive utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in explaining pregnant women's exercise intention and behavior. In an attempt to achieve this objective, and adhere to the theory guidelines established by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), the following three studies were conducted: (1) Study 1 was a review of 38 TPB elicitation studies with exercise behavior. (2) Study 2 was a TPB elicitation study of 74 postpartum women's beliefs about exercising during their pregnancy and postpartum. (3) Study 3 was a prospective examination of the TPB and 81 pregnant women's exercise intention and behavior from their second to their third trimester. For Study 1, the primary findings for healthy and special populations' salient exercise beliefs were: (a) physical and psychological health (behavioral beliefs), (b) friends and family (normative beliefs), and (c) physical and psychological issues (control beliefs). For Study 2, the primary findings for women's salient beliefs about exercising during their pregnancy were: (a) overall mood (behavioral beliefs), (b) husband or fiance (normative beliefs), and (c) physical limitations and restrictions (control beliefs). The salient beliefs about exercising during postpartum were: (a) weight control (behavioral beliefs), (b) husband or fiance (normative beliefs), and (c) no time (control beliefs). For Study 3, it was found that the TPB was successful in predicting pregnant women's exercise intention and behavior. More specifically, intention was the strongest predictor of pregnant women's exercise behavior, and perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor of their intention from their second to their third trimester. Implications of the results from all three studies are discussed, as well as future research directions and practical implications.
