Associations among physical activity tracking, physical activity motivation and level of physical activity in young adults

J Health Psychol. 2022 Jul;27(8):1833-1845. doi: 10.1177/13591053211008209. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Abstract

Whether physical activity (PA) tracking devices are associated with PA motivation in young adults is largely unknown. We compared total PA minutes per week, total minutes walking/week, meeting moderate-to vigorous PA guidelines, and past-year activity tracking across motivation cluster profiles among 799 young adults. Participants with "self-determined" profiles reported the highest total PA minutes/week followed by participants with "low intrinsic," "controlled self-determined," and "high external" profiles. A behavior regulation profile X activity tracking frequency interaction was not significant. Behavior regulation profiles may need to be considered in PA interventions using activity trackers.

Keywords: PA; activity tracking; behavior regulation; self-determination; young adults.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Exercise* / physiology
  • Humans
  • Motivation*
  • Personal Autonomy
  • Walking
  • Young Adult