(PS13-A8) Associations Between Physical Activity and Body Satisfaction Among Women Seeking Weight Loss

Behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs include physical activity (PA) prescriptions in the form of weekly targets for total minutes of PA. However, adherence to these prescriptions is poor e.g., only 21% of participants adhered to the PA prescription of 250 minutes per week at year 1 of the Look AHEAD trial. One potential reason for poor adherence to PA prescriptions is that the perceived benefits of PA are distant. If the sole goal of PA is to lose weight, it takes time to reap the benefits, and this is especially the case for women. Women achieve less total weight loss and at a slower rate in response to PA interventions than do men, which may lead to women discounting the value of PA in the short term. A more proximal benefit may be needed to motivate women to adhere to PA prescriptions, and Body Satisfaction (BS) could be an avenue. BS varies throughout the day and could explain a portion of the variance in PA engagement among individuals seeking weight loss. Thus, the current study investigated momentary, prospective associations between PA and BS among women with overweight/obesity (N = 106) enrolled in a 1- year BWL program. At the 6-month assessment, participants completed ecological momentary assessment (EMA), a data collection method involving the repeated gathering of data on participant experiences in a naturalistic setting, typically via smartphone. EMA surveys were completed six times per day over 14 days, measuring participant’s current level of BS. PA was measured using wrist-worn actigraphy sensors. Generalized estimating equations were used to determine the momentary and prospective associations between PA and BS while controlling for between-subject level of BS. PA was calculated by summing light, moderate and vigorous minutes of PA between EMA surveys. We found the total hours spent engaging in any PA (light, moderate or vigorous) at time1, was associated with increased BS relative to their average level of BS at time2, (Est = 0.032, S.E. = 0 .014, p < 001). Additionally, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was associated at a trend level with increased BS at time2 (Est = 0.026, S.E. = 0.015, p = 0.07). Results suggest that increased PA is prospectively associated with minor improvements in BS. Interestingly, the preliminary evidence suggests that women can realize these benefits even when the PA does not reach a moderate or vigorous intensity. Should these findings be replicated, treatments might consider emphasizing the small improvements in BS that follow PA to enhance motivation to engage in PA.