One of the health behaviours that are of public importance is physical activity, which can reduce the possibility of “chronic” illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, related problems, and some types of cancer. The term “physical activity” indicates any bodily movement that is produced by skeletal muscles. Such a movement of the body requires energy expenditure on physical as well as mental levels. Therefore, physical activity not only improves the physical health of the individual but also improves the quality of life by boosting mental health and fostering cognitive function. Contrary to that, physical inactivity leads to a lot of life-threatening diseases and increased mortality risks that result in millions of deaths annually.
To understand the important factors that influence physical activity in people, the ‘social-ecological” model can be considered, which reflects the reciprocal interaction between individual, interpersonal, organizational, policy, and community levels. The factors related to physical activity on an individual and interpersonal basis include biological factors such as fitness, body weight, height, health status, and chronic conditions in the genes. On the psychological level, characteristics include beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, benefits, self-efficacy, and perceived barriers that hinder the motivation for physical activity.
To address physical activity with respect to the social-ecological model, the social-cognitive theory is one of the various important theories that proposes that human behaviour is impacted by several elements, such as personal factors, behavioural features, and environmental aspects. This theory helps individuals design interventions that target individual-level factors. These factors affect physical activity while providing positive feedback, enhancing self-efficacy, facilitating self-monitoring, demonstrating behaviours for physical activity, setting realistic goals, facilitating problem-solving, and creating supportive environments for physical activity (Joseph et al., 2013).
In a nutshell, physical activity concerning social-cognitive theory along with the social-ecological model, which emphasizes the complicated interconnection of individual, society, and interpersonal relationships, emphasizes reciprocal relation between personal, behavioural, and societal factors to play the role of observational learning and self-regulation in behaviour change.
References
Joseph, R. P., Pekmezi, D. W., Lewis, T., Dutton, G., Turner, L. W., & Durant, N. H. (2013). Physical activity and social cognitive theory outcomes of an internet-enhanced physical activity intervention for African American female college students. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 6(2), 1.
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