Dietary intake and physical activity behaviours in patrons of commercial weight-loss programs: An application of Organismic Integration Theory

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the motivational basis for healthy eating and leisure-time physical (LTPA) activity behaviours within a sample of commercial weight-loss program users. Participants (N = 37; 83.80 percent female; M = 32.45 years, SD = 10.86 years) enrolled in self-selected commercial weight-loss programs (M= 0.74 years, SD = 1.18 years) completed a self-report survey using a cross-sectional design via an encrypted internet site. Participants endorsed more autonomous compared to controlling motives for both healthy eating and LTPA. Limited endorsement of amotivation was evident for either health behaviour. Autonomous motives were positively correlated with greater frequency of daily fruit and vegetable intake (r's ranged from 0.23 to 0.30), engagement in more strenuous types of LTPA (r's ranged from 0.32 to 0.51), and typical frequency of LTPA per week (r's ranged from 0.33 to 0.44). Both amotivation and external regulation were negatively correlated with LTPA (r's ranged from -0.20 to -0.46), yet were unrelated to daily fruit and vegetable intake (r's < 0.09). Introjected regulation was unrelated to daily fruit and vegetable intake (r = 0.06) but positively associated with more frequent engagement in LTPA during a typical week (r = 0.35). Overall, these results of this study reinforce the adaptive benefits of motives centred on personal values, self-congruence, and interest/enjoyment as a basis for promoting behaviours integral to weight control.??

Acknowledgments: Funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada