The relationships of action control orientation and health value of cholesterol and dietary fat reduction after an eight-week health promotion program

Abstract

This study examined the ability of a measure of Action-orientation (AO; Kuhl, 1984) to predict increased pro-health behaviors. Faculty and staff at a major Southwest University participated in the Trim to Be Fit program (N = 121) which emphasized increased aerobic activity and reductions in dietary fat and cholesterol. Regression analyses showed that for a sample of participants forty-five years and older (n = 29), AO was able to predict reductions in cholesterol after an eight-week health promotion intervention. In addition, the Action-orientation for Planning subscale (AOP; Kuhl, 1992) was higher for participants (n = 85) whose cholesterol had decreased. This effect was seen for all participants, regardless of age. Action-orientation for Planning also predicted attendance to the TBF program, providing an indication of the ability of this construct to predict adherence to pro-health behavior. Attendance to the TBF program predicted reductions in cholesterol. The ability of an interaction term consisting of AO with a measure of health-value (Snell, Johnson, Lloyd, & Hoover, 1990) was also examined to determine an ability to predict pro-health behavior. Neither the main effects of AO or health value, nor their interaction term, were able to predict cholesterol change. Health value, however, did predict reductions in the Percentage of Dietary Fat (PFAT) and Total Dietary Fat. An interaction of AOP and health value was able to predict reductions in PFAT. Reasons for the inability of the model originally proposed to predict reductions in cholesterol were discussed. In general, AO appears appropriate as a screening tool for health promotion programs and as an indication of what clinical interventions will be most effective for programs oriented toward health behavior change.