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The determinants of physical activity and exercise.
Public Health Reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)
|March 1, 1985
Summary
Many Americans struggle with regular physical activity participation. Understanding personal, environmental, and exercise-specific factors is crucial for developing effective exercise interventions and promoting physical activity adoption and maintenance.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Behavioral Science
- Exercise Science
Background:
- Physical activity and exercise program delivery is hindered by low participation rates in the US.
- Identifying effective interventions requires understanding the factors influencing physical activity adoption and maintenance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing research on determinants of physical activity adoption and maintenance.
- To identify gaps in knowledge and suggest directions for future research and intervention programs.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of research on physical activity determinants.
- Categorization of determinants into personal, environmental, and exercise characteristics.
- Separate consideration of supervised versus spontaneous physical activity.
Main Results:
- A wide range of determinants, populations, and settings have been studied across diverse disciplines.
- Diversity in research and data interpretation complicates clear knowledge summarization.
- Existing research provides some directions but lacks hypothesis testing derived from theoretical models.
Conclusions:
- Further research is needed to test theoretical models for predicting physical activity adoption and maintenance.
- The applicability of general health behavior theories versus activity-specific approaches requires further exploration.
- Clearer implications for intervention programs are needed from future research.