Abstract
Purpose: To explain physical activity behavior, social-cognitive theories were most commonly used in the past. Besides conscious processes, the approach of dual processes additionally incorporates non-conscious regulatory processes into physical activity behavior theories. Habits are one of various non-conscious variables that can influence behavior and thus play an important role in terms of behavior change. The aim of this review was to examine the relationship between habit strength and physical activity behavior in longitudinal studies.Methods: According to the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in three databases. Only peer-reviewed articles using a longitudinal study design were included. Both, habit and physical activity were measured at least once, and habit was related to physical activity behavior. Study quality was evaluated by assessment tools of the NHLBI.Results: Of 3.382 identified publications between 2016 and 2019, fifteen studies with different study designs were included. Most studies supported that positive correlations between habit and physical activity exist. Some positive direct and indirect effects of habit on physical activity were detected and only a minority of studies showed the influence of physical activity on habit strength. Studies differentiating between instigation and execution habit found positive correlations and revealed instigation habit as a stronger predictor of physical activity. The quality of studies was rated as reasonable using assessment tools of the NHLBI.Conclusion: This review revealed a bidirectional relationship between habit and physical activity. Whether habit predicts physical activity or vice versa is still unclear. The observation of habit influencing physical activity may be most appropriate in studies fostering physical activity maintenance while the influence of physical activity on habit may be reasonable in experimental studies with physical activity as intervention content to form a habit. Future investigations should differentiate between habit formation and physical activity maintenance studies depending on the research objective. Long-term study designs addressing the complexity of habitual behavior would be beneficial for establishing cue-behavior associations for the formation of habits. Furthermore, studies should differentiate between instigation and execution habit in order to investigate the influence of both variables on physical activity behavior independently.
Highlights
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of premature mortality (Warburton and Bredin, 2017) and has a preventive effect on chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus (Reiner et al, 2013; Musich et al, 2017)
This review revealed a bidirectional relationship between habit and physical activity
Based on the findings of included studies, we conclude that the direction of prediction analyses between habit and physical activity depends on the objective of research
Summary
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of premature mortality (Warburton and Bredin, 2017) and has a preventive effect on chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus (Reiner et al, 2013; Musich et al, 2017). The physical activity level of adults does not meet the international physical activity guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO, 2010). Physical activity behavior was most commonly explained by social-cognitive theories, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) or the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) (Schwarzer, 2008). There remains an underestimated gap between intention and behavior Constructs such as self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 2004) or action planning (Schwarzer, 2008) aim to bridge this intention-behavior gap, but evidence shows that only a small amount of physical activity behavior can be predicted by explicit processes (McEachan et al, 2011; Rhodes and Dickau, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
