An analysis of research on the determinants of exercise behavior

Lee, Jong Kyung

Abstract

The purposes of this study were 1) to identify determinants of exercise behavior 2) to determine theoretical frameworks that were used in other research 3) to investigate the limitations of exercise research. seventy six research papers, published between 1984-1999, were selected by searching Medline for this study. Research subjects, determinants of exercise behavior, exercise measurement, the design of studies, statistical method and theoretical background were examined. The results are as follows. 1. On the research subjects, most research papers studied healthy adults. 2. Thirteen variables were identified that were used more than 5 times in various researches were self efficacy, barrier, social support, benefit, physiological characteristics, habit, personality, intention, health status, motivation, subjective norm, attitude, and affect. The most frequently supported determinant was self efficacy, the second one was social support, the third was affect and so on. But few research papers found any significant relationship between subject norms or attitude and exercise. 3. On exercise measurement, only 22.4% of research papers considered intensity, duration, frequency as elements of exercise, and 64.5% of researches were assessed by self-reported questionnaires. 4. In research design, 80.3% of research papers were survey type research. The most frequently used statistcal method was Regression. 5. 44.8% of research papers were done without any theoretical basis. Based on the above findings the following suggestions are made: 1. Research which includes diverse populations with different levels of health status needs to be studied. 2. Determinants of exercise may be dynamic and varing in their influence, therefore, stages of exercise behavior and processes of change need to be studied. 3. In research design, more prospective, longitudinal studies are needed to identify determinants of exercise habits. 4. It is necessary to develop a reliable, valid exercise measurement tool. 5. Studies are needed to develop a theoretical framework for exercise behavior.