Independent Effects of Ideal Body Image Valuation and Delay Discounting on Proximal and Typical Levels of Physical Activity

Abstract

College students often fail to engage in sufficient levels of physical activity (PA), which contributes to negative health outcomes that can persist after college (Huang et al., 2003). It is interesting that the degree to which one discounts the subjective value of delayed rewards (i.e., delay discounting) is related to PA (Garza, Harris, & Bolding, 2013). Efforts to improve one’s physical appearance, a subcategory of body image investment, is also linked to greater levels of PA (Loland, 1998). In the current study, 45 undergraduate students reported proximal and typical levels of PA, completed a delay discounting task, and indicated the percent of a hypothetical cash allotment ($1,000) that they would spend on achieving their own ideal body image (i.e., indicated their valuation of body image). Lower rates of delay discounting and a higher valuation of ideal body image were independent predictors of PA during a typical week. These findings suggest that examining motivational factors such as body image in conjunction with delay discounting may be important to better understanding the initiation and maintenance of PA.