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Opportunities for healthy diet, activity drive intentions, behaviors

Patients having feasible opportunities for maintaining healthy diet and physical activity is clinically and meaningfully associated with their intentions, actual behaviors and their BMI, according to data published in the Annals of Family Medicine.

In addition, the researchers found that primary care physicians should assess their patients’ opportunities as part of any effort to help them achieve and maintain health behaviors.

“Despite the complex genesis of behaviors, clinical assessment and intervention has narrowly focused on individuals’ behavior intentions and motivation, with modest success,” Robert L. Ferrer, MD, MPH, of the department of family and community medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and colleagues wrote. “As a result, clinicians have limited confidence in their ability to manage obesity and its linked behaviors, leading to declining rates of diagnosis and treatment.”

To analyze how practical opportunities for diet and physical activity drive patients’ intentions and actions, the researchers recruited 746 adults from eight large primary care practices in the Residency Research Network of Texas in 2012.

They used structural equation models to confirm factor structures for a previously validated measure of practical opportunities. The researchers then modeled actual diet, physical activity and BMI as a function of opportunities, with information gained through various questionnaires.

According to the researchers, in path models, patient resources (P < .001) and conversion factors (P = .005) were predictors of intentions for physical activity. For diet intentions, conversion factors (P < .001), but not resources, were predictors. Meanwhile, activity resources (P = .01) and conversion factors (P < .001) were both positively associated with weekly activity minutes. For diet quality, conversion factors (P < .001), but not diet resources, were predictors. In addition, similar patterns were seen for BMI. The researchers also noted evidence of socioeconomic gradients in resources and conversion factors.

“This study demonstrates that practical opportunities for healthy diet and physical activity are measurable, confirming factor structures derived in a previous study,” Ferrer and colleagues wrote. “Practical opportunity measures predict behavioral intentions, diet quality, activity minutes and BMI as theorized.” – by Jason Laday

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.