Login / Signup

The association between implicit attitudes toward physical activity and physical activity behaviour: a systematic review and correlational meta-analysis.

Guillaume ChevancePaquito BernardPier Eric ChamberlandAmanda L Rebar
Published in: Health psychology review (2019)
As a result of recent calls to attend to the implicit processes that regulate health behaviours, the study of implicit attitudes and physical activity behaviour has grown rapidly in the past decade. The aim of this study was to summarise existing evidence on the extent to which implicit attitudes toward physical activity are associated with physical activity behaviour. A systematic literature review was performed to retrieve studies reporting both a measure of implicit attitudes and physical activity. For the meta-analysis, effect size (Pearson's r) were extracted from eligible studies or retrieved from authors. A total of 26 independent studies, and 55 effect sizes, were eligible. There was a small, significant, and positive correlation between implicit attitudes and physical activity, a finding replicated across multiple meta-analytical strategies with sensitivity analyses applied. This association was not significantly moderated by study design or objective, participants' age or other characteristics, or measures of implicit attitudes or physical activity. This meta-analysis provides evidence that implicit attitudes toward physical activity are positively associated with physical activity in adults to a small degree.
Keyphrases
  • physical activity
  • systematic review
  • body mass index
  • case control
  • mental health
  • healthcare
  • sleep quality
  • public health
  • social media
  • risk assessment
  • climate change