| Popis: |
Obesity in children and adolescents has risen precipitously over the past several decades, especially among underserved populations, due largely to unhealthy diet and insufficient physical activity. Theory and research suggest a link between health beliefs and health behaviors across populations, and current research aims to identify factors that influence and account for this link. The present study explored whether psychological flexibility/inflexibility mediates associations between eating attitudes and both food and physical activity habits in a sample of urban underserved youth. Results indicate that psychological flexibility/inflexibility did not mediate either of the proposed models for the full sample or when sex or age groups were examined separately. Associations were found between eating attitudes and both food habits and physical activity, as well as between psychological flexibility/inflexibility and eating attitudes, food habits, and physical activity, although findings were mixed across the full sample and subsamples examined. It is recommended that future research examine links between psychological flexibility/inflexibility and health beliefs and behaviors more broadly, and that differences by sex and age be more thoroughly studied. |
