Moderators of physical activity and obesity during adolescence

The purpose of this study was to examine possible moderators of the relation between physical activity and obesity in adolescence. Adolescents (N = 168; mean age = 15.20 years; 52.4% girls; 76.8% African American) were recruited from low-income primary care medical facilities in a large southern city. Measures included Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile, physical activity, shared family physical activity, and self-efficacy for healthful eating. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate a) independent contributions of physical activity, shared family activity, and self-efficacy for healthful eating to the prediction of adolescent BMI percentile; b) interactions between shared and individual physical activity in the prediction of BMI percentile; c) interactions between self-efficacy for healthful eating and physical activity in the prediction of BMI percentile; and d) interactions among all three variables. Findings revealed self-efficacy for healthful eating was a significant moderator of the adolescent physical activity and BMI percentile relation. Conclusions emphasize the interactive nature among obesity risk factors.