Abstract
Recently, Drs. Ken Resnicow and Roger Vaughan published a thought-provoking paper in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IJBNPA). They argue that the most often used social-cognition theories in behavioral nutrition and physical activity are of limited use. These models describe behavior change as a linear event, while Resnicow and Vaughan posit that behavior change is more likely to occur in quantum leaps that are impossible to predict. They introduce Chaos Theory into the behavioral nutrition and physical activity domain as a more valid framework to study the complex process of health behavior change. The present paper is a commentary on Resnicow and Vaughan's article by Resnicow's opponent in a recent debate-session at the annual meeting of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The chair of that meeting, Prof. Tom Baranowski, provides a separate commentary on Resnicow and Vaughan's paper also published recently in the IJBNPA. In the present commentary I relate Resnicow and Vaughan's paper to the other contributions to the Theory debate in the IJBNPA. I recognize the limited success of social cognition models, and, next to a better application of these models and more thorough research to test these model, also support research to further test the quantum and chaotic character of health behavior change. However, if such research supports the chaotic and quantum nature of health behavior change, the implications for behavioral nutrition and physical activity interventions may be limited, because even if behavior change is quantum rather than linear, the social cognition models are still relevant to inform interventions to promote quantum leaps in behavior change.
Highlights
From the very start of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IJBNPA) the journal has recognized the limited success of the prevailing health behavior theories in explaining and predicting nutrition and physical activity behaviors and behavior change
In line with Jeffery, that the leading behavioral theories focus too much on motivation only, and we agreed with Rothman that more experimental research is necessary to test these theories in the behavioral nutrition and physical activity domain, and that the prevailing theories should not be viewed as fixed entities, but should be further refined as well as integrated
I fully agree with their arguments that nutrition and physical activity behaviors are often influences by a complex set of variables, which makes prediction of behavior change very difficult if not impossible
Summary
From the very start of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IJBNPA) the journal has recognized the limited success of the prevailing health behavior theories in explaining and predicting nutrition and physical activity behaviors and behavior change. In the second theory debate paper [2], Dr Rothman concluded that the prevailing theories have limited success in explaining behavior change He recognizes the importance of structured protocols to better apply theoretical constructs in intervention development, he argued that such protocol may only help to provide better guidance as to how existing theories should be applied, while more effort is necessary to refine, expand or reject existing theories. In the fourth theory debate paper, Kremers and colleagues proposed an integrative theoretical framework, for energy-balance-related nutrition and physical activity behaviors This framework explicitly includes the interface between person and environment that Jeffery missed in the social cognition models he criticized, and the framework addresses behavior change instead of motivation, paying attention to possible mediators and moderators in determination of behavior changes, and focusing on hypothetical causal pathways instead of associations [5]. While the former contributors appear to agree that the prevailing theories are of value, and should be refined or extended, Resnicow and Vaughan argue that the foundation of the prevailing theories is invalid, and that a fundamental paradigm shift in health behavior theory is needed
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