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Social ecological correlates of physical activity in normal weight, overweight, and obese individuals

International Journal of Obesity volume 29, pages 720–726 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Research is limited concerning the moderating influence of weight status (ie normal, over, and obese) on the social ecological correlates of physical activity (PA) in adults. Therefore, the present study attempted to shed light on this issue.

DESIGN:

In 2001, a national cross-sectional mail out panel survey was conducted over a 3-month period in the United States.

SUBJECTS:

There were 1867 normal weight (ie body mass index (BMI)=20–24.99 kg/m2), 2145 overweight (ie BMI=25–29.99 kg/m2), and 1902 obese (ie BMI>30 kg/m2) adults.

MEASURES:

Various demographic measurements were taken in addition to social support (SS), self-efficacy (SE), access to facilities, and PA.

RESULTS:

Normal weight individuals engaged in significantly more PA than overweight individuals, who in turn engaged in significantly more PA than obese individuals F(2,5991)=55.51, P<0.01. Further regression analyses showed that higher SE, SS, the access to facilities in a neighborhood, and various interactions among these constructs were significantly and positively associated with PA. Interestingly, the strength of these relationships varied depending on weight status.

CONCLUSION:

Weight status needs to be taken into consideration when examining social ecological correlates of PA.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Colleen Doyle from the American Cancer Society who provided access to the current data set. This project was supported by the American Cancer Society. Chris M Blanchard is supported by a Career Scientist Award from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    C M Blanchard

  2. Department of Health and Sport Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    K R McGannon

  3. Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    J C Spence

  4. School of Physical Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

    R E Rhodes

  5. American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA, USA

    E Nehl & F Baker

  6. University of Ottawa, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    J Bostwick

Authors
  1. C M Blanchard
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  2. K R McGannon
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  3. J C Spence
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  4. R E Rhodes
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  5. E Nehl
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  6. F Baker
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  7. J Bostwick
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C M Blanchard.

Appendix A

Appendix A

Scales used to measure social ecological variables is shown in Table A1

Table 4 Table a1
Full size table

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Blanchard, C., McGannon, K., Spence, J. et al. Social ecological correlates of physical activity in normal weight, overweight, and obese individuals. Int J Obes 29, 720–726 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802927

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