Steps to and correlates of health-enhancing physical activity in adulthood: An intercultural study between German and Chinese individuals

Publication date: December 2013 Source:Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness, Volume 11, Issue 2 Author(s): Yanping Duan , Walter Brehm , Helmut Strobl , Susanne Tittlbach , Zhijian Huang , Gangyan Si Health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) is a primary resource for improving physiological and psychosocial health. Stage models in the HEPA promotion area should fulfill three functions: description, intervention, and diagnosis. However, these functions have received insufficient attention, and research using an intercultural study paradigm has been rather scarce on this topic. The purpose of this study was to examine the three functions of a stage model by addressing the steps and correlates of HEPA behavior change process among adult samples from Germany and China. The 2071 adults (42% German and 58% Chinese), who were aged 27–55 years, completed self-administered questionnaires that assessed the quantity, intensity, and type of physical activity (PA) and assessed the stage of change. The following were also measured: five health correlates (i.e., fitness, physical complaints, body mass index, health satisfaction, and subjective well-being) and 10 psychosocial correlates (i.e., outcome expectations, affective attitude, barriers, self-efficacy, body concept, plans, intrinsic motivation, assessment of activity situation, activity emotions, and social support). The PA stages were significantly and positively correlated with the weekly energy consumption. In ...
Source: Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness - Category: Sports Medicine Source Type: research