Psychology of Physical Activity

Stuart Biddle is Professor of Active Living and Public Health in the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Active Living at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. He was previously Professor at Loughborough University where he was Head of the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, 2001–2007. He was the inaugural Editor-In-Chief of the journal Psychology of Sport & Exercise and is a Past-President of both the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and the European Federation for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (FEPSAC). In 2010 he received the Distinguished Contribution to Sport & Exercise Psychology Award from the British Psychological Society. Stuart has published over 250 research papers and sits on editorial boards of several leading peer-reviewed scientific journals, including Preventive Medicine, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, and Psychology of Sport and Exercise. Nanette Mutrie is Chair of Physical Activity for Health at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and she directs the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre there. She is also a visiting Professor at the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow and at the University of Ulster. Nanette is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and has extensive experience of conducting interventions aimed at increasing physical activity. She is also an Honorary Fellow of BASES. She has contributed to policy, for example, ‘Let’s make Scotland more active’, and the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) programmes on physical activity and the environment and the promotion of walking and cycling (www.nice.org.uk). Nanette was awarded an MBE in the UK New Year’s Honours list 2015 for services to physical activity for health.　She gets her own exercise by commuter cycling, dog walking and playing golf (badly, so a lot more walking involved!). Trish Gorely is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Activity and Health in the School of Sport at the University of Stirling, UK. Her research interests are in the psychology of physical activity and health, and understanding physical activity and sedentary behaviour in young people and adults. Trish is an Associate Editor for the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Part 1: Introduction and Rationale  1. Introduction and rationale Part 2: Physical Activity and Mental Health  2. Physical activity and psychological well-being  3. Physical activity and depression  4. Physical activity and other mental health challenges  5. Physical activity and cognitive functioning  6. Physical activity and self-esteem  Part 3: Physical Activity Correlates and Theories  7. Physical activity correlates and barriers  8. Physical activity and attitude  9. Physical activity and motivation  10. Physical activity and confidence  11. Physical activity and stage-based approaches  Part 4: Physical Activity Behaviour Change  12. Physical activity interventions  13. Physical activity interventions for young people  14. Physical activity interventions for adults and older adults  15. Physical activity interventions for clinical populations and conditions  Part 5: Sedentary Behaviour  16. Psychology of sitting  Part 6: Conclusions 17. Summary, conclusions and recommendations