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Integrated Social- and Neurocognitive Model of Physical Activity Behavior in Older Adults with Metabolic Disease

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Despite the proven benefits of physical activity to treat and prevent metabolic diseases, such as diabetes (T2D) and metabolic syndrome (MetS), most individuals with metabolic disease do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations. PA is a complex behavior requiring substantial motivational and cognitive resources. The purpose of this study was to examine social cognitive and neuropsychological determinants of PA behavior in older adults with T2D and MetS. The hypothesized model theorized that baseline self-regulatory strategy use and cognitive function would indirectly influence PA through self-efficacy.

Methods

Older adults with T2D or MetS (M age = 61.8 ± 6.4) completed either an 8-week physical activity intervention (n = 58) or an online metabolic health education course (n = 58) and a follow-up at 6 months. Measures included cognitive function, self-efficacy, self-regulatory strategy use, and PA.

Results

The data partially supported the hypothesized model (χ2 = 158.535(131), p > .05, comparative fit index = .96, root mean square error of approximation = .04, standardized root mean square residual = .06) with self-regulatory strategy use directly predicting self-efficacy (β = .33, p < .05), which in turn predicted PA (β = .21, p < .05). Performance on various cognitive function tasks predicted PA directly and indirectly via self-efficacy. Baseline physical activity (β = .62, p < .01) and intervention group assignment via self-efficacy (β = −.20, p < .05) predicted follow-up PA. The model accounted for 54.4 % of the variance in PA at month 6.

Conclusions

Findings partially support the hypothesized model and indicate that select cognitive functions (i.e., working memory, inhibition, attention, and task-switching) predicted PA behavior 6 months later. Future research warrants the development of interventions targeting cognitive function, self-regulatory skill development, and self-efficacy enhancement.

Trial Registration Number

The trial was registered with the clinical trial number NCT01790724.

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Acknowledgments

Research was funded by the National Institute on Aging: F31AG042232, R01AG0200118, 5T32AG023480-10; the Shahid Khan and Ann Carlson Khan Endowed Professorship; and the National Institute for Agriculture—Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program grant (2011-67001-30101) to the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Erin A. Olson PhD, Sean P. Mullen PhD, Lauren B. Raine BS & Edward McAuley PhD

  2. The Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Sean P. Mullen PhD & Edward McAuley PhD

  3. Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Arthur F. Kramer PhD & Charles H. Hillman PhD

  4. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Arthur F. Kramer PhD

  5. Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Charles H. Hillman PhD

  6. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Edward McAuley PhD

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  1. Erin A. Olson PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erin A. Olson PhD.

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

Authors Olson, Mullen, Raine, Kramer, Hillman, and McAuley 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.

Additional information

Note: First author’s current affiliation is McKinsey & Company, Denver, CO. All research was conducted at the University of Illinois.

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Olson, E.A., Mullen, S.P., Raine, L.B. et al. Integrated Social- and Neurocognitive Model of Physical Activity Behavior in Older Adults with Metabolic Disease. ann. behav. med. 51, 272–281 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9850-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9850-4

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