Bidirectional association between stress and physical activity in adults with overweight and obesity

Research has suggested that there may be a bidirectional association between stress and physical activity; however, much of this work has been conducted in athletes or adults with normal weight. The current study investigated the bidirectional association between stress and physical activity in adults with overweight and obesity. For a full year, during and after a 12-week, Internet-based weight loss program, 74 participants (BMI = 31.2 kg/m²) were asked to report stress and minutes of physical activity each week. An increase in stress was associated with less physical activity during the same week and predicted fewer minutes of physical activity the following week. Finally, each 1 h increase in physical activity on a given week was associated with a small decrease in stress ratings the following week. Results confirmed the bidirectional association between stress and physical activity in a sample of adults with overweight/obesity, and supported results highlighting stress as a barrier to physical activity. Future studies should investigate whether adding intervention components to decrease stress or to reinforce physical activity can improve physical activity engagement in this population.