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Predicting Change in Physical Activity: a Longitudinal Investigation Among Weight-Concerned College Women

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Engaging in regular physical activity (PA) is critical for health, and adopting a consistent PA routine early in life is associated with greater PA over the lifespan. College women with weight concerns are at risk for weight gain, which may be prevented with regular PA. However, little is known about changes in PA engagement in this at-risk group.

Purpose

Using an outcome expectancy framework, this study used a prospective longitudinal design to examine changes in PA during the first 2 years of college. We tested for concurrent and prospective within-person relations between body satisfaction/perceived eating behavior and PA to determine when weight-concerned college women may increase or decrease PA.

Methods

Women who reported weight concerns at the start of college (n = 294) completed five assessments over 2 years, including measured weight, body/eating experiences, and 4 days of pedometer steps (per assessment). Multilevel models addressed the resulting nested data structure (days within assessments within participants).

Results

Over 2 years, within-person change accounted for 65 % of PA variability (ICC = 0.35). PA was greatest at (and subsequent to) times when body satisfaction was lower, and when disinhibited eating and hedonic hunger were higher, than an individual’s average (ps < 0.05). These changes were associated with 1–3 % of the recommended daily step totals.

Conclusions

Weight-conscious college women show greater PA after negative eating and weight experiences. As these experiences change over time, health promotion efforts should help college women identify alternative, positive motivators for PA, which could facilitate consistent PA engagement.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Jacqueline Mogle for her feedback on manuscript drafts. This work was funded by NIH RO1 DK072982.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Scranton, 800 Linden Street 205 Alumni Memorial Hall, Scranton, PA, 18510, USA

    Danielle Arigo PhD

  2. Department of Psychology, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street Stratton 119, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Meghan L. Butryn PhD & Michael R. Lowe PhD

  3. VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02130, USA

    Greer A. Raggio PhD, MPH

  4. Oregon Research Institute, 1776 Millrace Dr, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    Eric Stice PhD

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  1. Danielle Arigo PhD
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  2. Meghan L. Butryn PhD
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  3. Greer A. Raggio PhD, MPH
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  5. Michael R. Lowe PhD
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Correspondence to Danielle Arigo PhD.

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Authors’ Statement of Conflict of Interest and Adherence to Ethical Standards

Authors’ Statement of Conflict of Interest and Adherence to Ethical Standards Authors Arigo, Butryn, Raggio, Stice, and Lowe declare that they have no conflict of interest. All procedures, including the informed consent process, were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

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Arigo, D., Butryn, M.L., Raggio, G.A. et al. Predicting Change in Physical Activity: a Longitudinal Investigation Among Weight-Concerned College Women. ann. behav. med. 50, 629–641 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9788-6

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