Transforming leisure time physical activity into a habit through social institutions

Abstract

Physical activity is a positive health behavior that has been shown to reduce the risk of physical and mental illnesses; There’s strong evidence suggesting that Physical activity, as one of the components of a healthy lifestyle, if transformed into a consistent behavior or habit early in life, becomes easier to sustain throughout the lifecycle and leads to valuable outcomes for the society’s health in various physical, mental, and social dimensions. Each social institution, considering its unique role and characteristics, can contribute to shaping individuals’ behaviors in societies. Consequently, identifying the role of social institutions in the development of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) as a regular activity and a behavioral habit can result in the selection and implementation of highly effective intervention strategies. Therefore, this research aimed to present a model of the role of social institutions in institutionalizing leisure-time physical activity among Iranian adolescent girls. To collect data, the questionnaires were employed, and for presenting the model, structural equation modeling was utilized. Data analysis showed that the role of three social institutions in the institutionalization of physical activities including habituation, objectification and sedimentation was confirmed, although sedimentation was confirmed in all three institutions at the 0.05 level, which indicates that factors in this area can be investigated. Examining the role of social institutions in institutionalizing behaviors may vary across different ages and genders, which is open to investigation in future studies.