Exploring basic psychological needs within and across domains of physical activity.

PURPOSE: This study explored variations in adults' experience of satisfaction, unfulfilment and frustration of basic psychological needs within and across four domains of physical activity: Transport, household, occupation, and recreation. METHODS: We utilized a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of 42 Danish adults. The participants ranged in age from 16 to 79 years (mean age 49 years, SD 21 years), gender (45% men, 55% women), and physical activity levels (38% low, 33% average, 29% high). Data were analysed using a thematic analysis, applying Self-Determination Theory as the guiding framework. RESULTS: In the Transport domain, while most activities were seen as utilitarian necessities, autonomy satisfaction emerged for some through control over their means of transport. In Household domain, tasks were generally viewed as obligatory; however, activities with personal significance led to autonomy satisfaction and skill development. Occupation-wise, physical activity satisfaction varied, with the nature of the job impacting feelings of autonomy and competence. For Recreation domain, personal choice dictated autonomy satisfaction, with competence and relatedness varying according to goal achievement and social interactions. CONCLUSION: The variations in the findings across domains indicate the effectiveness of applying strategies tailored to specific domains for enhancing need satisfaction.

Associations of types of physical activity with self-rated physical and mental health in Denmark.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the association between types of physical activity and self-rated physical and mental health. The analyses are based on data from a Danish 2020 survey of adults' exercise habits. The questionnaire was answered by 163,131 adults of whom 55 pct. were women and relatively evenly distributed by age. The questionnaire included questions about participation in different types of physical activity, self-rate of physical and mental health and sociodemographic and socioeconomic background. The analysis distinguishes between 16 main types of sports and exercise activities, cycling as a mode of transport, and gardening at home. The statistical analysis consists of ordinal regression, where the association between practicing a certain form of physical activity and self-rated health takes into account the adults other physical activity habits and their socio-economic and socio-demographic background. The analyses show, firstly, that the association, for most types of physical activity, is stronger for self-rated physical health than for self-rated mental health. Secondly, there are large differences in the strength of the association between the different types of physical activity. Thirdly, the association is significantly stronger for those who practise an activity type most days of the week than for those who do it less often. Fourthly, the analyses show small gender differences in the association between types of physical activity and self-rated health. Finally, the more different types of activity a person practises during a week, the better the self-rated health, but this primarily applies to self-rated physical health.

Motives for leisure-time physical activity participation: an analysis of their prevalence, consistency and associations with activity type and social background.

BACKGROUND: Studies argue that knowledge about motives for physical activity participation can inform activities, initiatives and interventions to promote physical activity. However, most of these studies are based on small sample sizes and only include participants within a few selected types of PA. Further, they have not examined the consistency of individuals' motives across different activity types. As a result, this article examines RQ1: the most prevalent motives, RQ2: the association of motives with activity type and social background characteristics, and RQ3: the consistency of motives across different activity types. METHODS: We utilised data from a survey of physical activity participation among 163,000 adult Danes (aged 15 + years). In the survey, the participants were asked about their participation in thirteen activity types and about their motives for practising the activity types they reported to do at least weekly. The motive items were operationalised based on the eight dimensions in the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS). We conducted analyses of mean values and standard deviations as well as multilevel regression analyses. RESULTS: We identified large differences in the importance of different motives for physical activity participation. The three most important motives were psychological condition (M = 4.54), physical condition (M = 4.48) and enjoyment (M = 4.36). We also found significant associations between motives and activity types in particular, but also between motives and social background characteristics (gender, age and educational level). For instance, we found that compared to running, physical condition was a much less important motive in outdoor activities (b = -3.01), activities on water (b = -2.44) and street sports (b = -2.38). Finally, our analysis showed how individuals' motives are not consistent across different activity types. CONCLUSIONS: Our study contributes to the literature on motives for physical activity participation by using a large sample of individuals and by differentiating motives according to a wide range of activity types. The results underline the need to study motives in relation to activity types, as there are large differences in the prevalence of different motives. Our findings suggest that motives are not consistent across activity types, but rather they develop in an interplay between the individual and the activity type practised.

Motives and Barriers Related to Physical Activity within Different Types of Built Environments: Implications for Health Promotion.

Studies have identified individuals' motives and barriers as main predictors of physical-activity behaviour, while other studies found physical-activity behaviour to be related to characteristics of the built environment. However, studies that have a combined focus on motives and barriers and the built environment are less common. This scoping review aims to provide knowledge about motives and barriers related to physical activity within different types of built environments to mitigate this knowledge gap. A systematic literature search was performed in four scientific databases and yielded 2734 articles, of which 31 articles met the inclusion criteria. The review identified four types of built environments within which motives and barriers were studied, including walkability, cyclist infrastructure, neighbourhood parks and open spaces and sports facilities. Several common motives recur across all four types of built environments, especially easy accessibility and good facility conditions. Conversely, poor accessibility and inadequate facility conditions are common barriers. Our review also showed how some motives and barriers seem to be more context-specific because they were only identified within a few types of built environments. This knowledge may help target future health-promotion initiatives in relation to urban planning and the importance of the environment on physical activity.

Motives and Barriers Related to Physical Activity and Sport across Social Backgrounds: Implications for Health Promotion.

Studies have found physical inactivity to be a significant health risk factor and have demonstrated how physical inactivity behaviour varies according to social background. As a result, differences according to social background must be considered when examining motives and barriers related to physical activity and sport. This scoping review examines motives and barriers related to physical activity and sport among people with different social backgrounds, including age, socioeconomic status, gender, ethnic minority background and disability status. A systematic literature search was performed in four scientific databases and yielded 2935 articles of which 58 articles met the inclusion criteria. We identified common motives for physical activity and sport as health benefits, well-being, enjoyment, social interaction, and social support; common barriers as time restrictions, fatigue and lack of energy, financial restrictions, health-related restrictions, low motivation, and shortage of facilities. We also identified several motives and barriers that were specific to or more pronounced among people with different social backgrounds. The knowledge about motives and barriers related to physical activity and sport provided in this article can inform health promotion initiatives that seek to improve public health both in general and when specifically targeting groups of people with different social backgrounds.