Effects of Email-Based Positive Exercise Images on Attitude, Intention, and Exercise Behavior in Sedentary Young Adults

Abstract

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of positive exercise images sent via email on psychological constructs associated with theory of planned behavior (TPB) and exercise behavior (EB) in sedentary young adults. METHODS: 220 sedentary adults (19.9±0.9 years, 59.4% Caucasian, 37.3% African American, 52% male) completed the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ) and self-report measures examining components of the TPB. Participants were sent persuasive electronic mail messages every other day for 2 weeks. One randomly assigned group received positively framed messages (PM; n=73); the other received positively framed messages with positive exercise images (PMI, n=73); and the control group (CG; n=74) received none. Participants completed the GLTEQ and TPB questionnaires following the 2-wk treatment phase (follow-up) and again one month later (retention). ANCOVAS with repeated measures were used in all analyses with baseline test results serving as the covariate. RESULTS: ANCOVA results revealed that PM and PMI reported significantly higher levels of affective attitude (AA) than CG at follow-up (F (2, 217) = 6.65, p < .008, η2 = .53). Further, PMI reported higher AA than PM and CG at retention (F (2,217) = 19.07, p < .008, η2 = .55). For EB, PMI reported higher levels than both PM and CG at follow-up (F (2,217) = 7.22, p < .008, η2 = .57) and retention (F (2,217) = 9.30, p < .008, η2 = .60). At follow-up, pairwise comparisons revealed than PM also reported higher levels of EB compared to CG. Examination of exercise intention showed that PMI reported higher levels than both PM and CG at follow-up (F (2,217) = 6.47, p < .008, η2 = .59) and retention (F (2,217) = 10.01, p < .008, η2 = .62). Also, pairwise comparisons revealed that PM reported higher levels of intention compared to CG at follow-up and retention (F (2,217) = 5.58, p < .008, η2 = .55). CONCLUSION: Positively framed messages and positively framed messages with positive exercise images sent via email improved levels of AA, EB, and intention in sedentary young adults. Also, positively framed messages with images were more effective than positively framed messages alone for improving AA, EB, and intention. Email-based persuasive messaging combined with positive exercise imagery can be used to improve attitude, intention, and exercise behavior in sedentary young adults.