Vol. 47 No. 1 (2015), Exercise Psychology Abstracts
Vol. 47 No. 1 (2015)

Effects of the quality of implementation intentions for physical activity on achieving weight loss

Exercise Psychology Abstracts
Published 2015-11-15
Farah Islam
Department of Psychology, McGill University
Zhen Xu
Department of Psychology, McGill University
Michelle Sasson
Department of Psychology, McGill University
Mélodie Chamandy
Department of Psychology, University of Ottawa
Elena Ivanova
Department of Psychology, McGill University
Anastasiya Voloshyn
Department of Psychology, McGill University
Virginia Rogers
Department of Psychology, McGill University
Kimberly Carrière
Department of Psychology, McGill University
Anaïs Ames-Bull
Department of Psychology, McGill University
Barbel Knäuper
Department of Psychology, McGill University

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of implementation intentions (IIs) for physical activity on weight loss in an overweight/obese population (BMI range of 28 to 45 kg/m2, waist circumference?=?88 for women, = 102 for men) partaking in the McGill CHIP Healthy Weight Program, a lifestyle behaviour change program. We hypothesize that higher specificity of the IIs (i.e., degree of II detail) leads to greater weight loss. Furthermore, we will explore whether plans for unstructured physical activity will be more or less effective for weight loss than plans for structured physical activity. Specifically, structured plans require setting time aside specifically for the planned activity, whereas unstructured plans are plans where the physical activity done in conjunction within another daily activity. A total of 454 IIs from 35 participants who have completed at least 12 weeks of the program will be coded and analyzed. The study is in the coding phase, which is done by two separate coders who rate each II for degree of specificity and whether it refers to a structured or unstructured plan. The analyses will commence following the completion of the coding.

Acknowledgments: I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Bärbel Knäuper for giving me the incredible opportunity to pursue this project, and for her constant support and encouragement. I also wish to thank Elena Ivanova and Zhen Xu for their continuous guidance and generosity.