The Interaction Between Sedentary Lifestyle And Sedentary Lifestyle Change

BackgroundNowadays,there is a heavy chronic diseases burden in China.Lifestyle management is considered to be one of the most important basic measures for the prevention and control of chronic diseases.Sedentary lifestyle,as one kind of unhealthy lifestyle,is increasingly prevalent throughout the world prevalent throughout the world.Sedentary lifestyle has been proven to be a number of adverse health outcomes,especially those associated with chronic diseases.At present,there is growing concern for sedentary lifestyle but there are still many problems to be solved.For example,existing studies on sedentary lifestyle are mostly conducted from the “authoritative perspective” of professionals,with little analysis of the patients' self-regulation of the sedentary lifestyle and few studies exploring the sedentary lifestyle coping processs from the patient's perspective.And there is a lack of researches exploring socio-cultural contextual factors in China.AimsThis study aims to explore what is Chinese adults' self-regulatory process of sedentary lifestyles.And explore what kind of strategies and skills have been adopted during the process? What are the factors that affect the process? We hope our findings can help provide a reference for governments,health care institutions,and health care providers to develop interventions for the sedentary lifestyle,with the patients or the residents as center.MethodsGrounded theory methodology was used.31 individuals had sedentary lifestyle risk or changed from sedentary lifestyle into non-sedentary lifestyle were recruited through purposive sampling,theoretical sampling,convenience sampling,vatiational sampling,etc.to conduct individual in-depth interviews.Finally,the participants came from urban and rural areas including Shanghai,Zhejiang,Sichuan,Shandong,Wuhan,Hubei,and Henan etc.All recorded interviews were transcribed word by word and electronically documented and stored.Observations were also used to collect data about adults' self-regulation process of sedentary lifestyle.Observations were collected using field notebooks and saved electronically.Three-level coding(open coding,axial coding and selective coding),analysis techniques such as questioning and constant comparison,and writing memo and analysis tools such as conditional matrix and coding paradigm were used for analysis.ResultsIn this study,the core category of “the game between sedentary lifestyle and sedentary lifestyle changes” was precipitated,and the theoretical framework “game: the interaction between sedentary lifestyle and sedentary lifestyle changing” is constructed.First,individuals form and maintain a sedentary lifestyle under the interaction of internal and external factors and they cannot change or are unwilling to change the sedentary lifestyle.For the individual,the sedentary lifestyle forms with "reasonableness of being"(including the self enjoyment,the individual's characteristics,and the external factors)and the "reason of fixation"(including the individual's characteristics,unreasonable cognition,and lack of conditions).Until the individual is triggered by certain factors(external stimuli,cognitive changes,and demands),the motivation for change is created and the existing sedentary balance is broken.Motivation is a necessary condition for changing the individual's sedentary lifestyle.The process of sedentary lifestyle change includes three phases: pre-change,change,and maintain changes.The characteristics of the pre-change phase are positive preparations of relevant material conditions.In the pre-change phase,the individual is affected by propensity factors,contributing factors,and reinforcement factors: the propensity factor provides internal driving force,the contributing factor provides external conditions,and the reinforcement factor strengthens the individual behavior;at the same time,the maintenance factors of sedentary lifestyle and motivation factors of sedentary lifestyle change still play a role.There is a game between the contributing factor and hindering factors.If the facilitator prevails,the individual may further enter the stage of “change”;if the hindering factors prevail,the individual may return to the sedentary lifestyle.In the phase of change,individuals undergo specific changes in behavior and sedentary lifestyle changes take place officially.At this stage,individuals take specific strategies to counter the effects of sedentary lifestyle and to promote the occurrence and maintenance of sedentary lifestyle changes.Commonly used strategies include three categories: using of resources,increasing physical activity,and ensuring the implementation of measures.Whether the individual can enter into the change maintenance phase depends on the game result between the obstruction and facilitation factors at this stage.In addition to the unique tendency factors,contributing factors and reinforcement factors at this stage,the maintenance factors of sedentary lifestyle and motivational factors still play a role.If obstructive factors prevail,then individuals cannot persist in changing behaviors of sedentary lifestyles,appear to regulatively degenerate or even cease;if the facilitator wins,individuals can maintain sedentary lifestyle change behaviors and form a mode of adjustment(habitual development and self-regulation)that suits themselves.Tendency factors "preference and enjoyment of exercise" in the changing phase is a strong internal driving force for individuals who maintain sedentary lifestyle change behaviors,and "positive outcomes"(physiological,psychological outcomes)brought about by sedentary lifestyle change behaviors are strengthening factors.This pair of internal and external factors plays a key role in the maintenance of the new balance of the “sedentary lifestyle change”.ConclusionsThis study described the process of interaction tween sedentary lifestyle and sedentary lifestyle changing and determined strategies used during the process in the context of China.Besides,the factors affect the process were also explored.Our study can provide reference for the government,health care institutions,health care providers,etc.,to formulate a sedentary lifestyle health promotion program.