Outcome Expectations on Physical Activity: The Roles of Body Appreciation and Health Status

Although the research has demonstrated that outcome expectations influence physical activity, the precise underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous. Therefore, this study employed a cross-sectional research design to investigate the effect of outcome expectations on physical activity and to examine the roles of body appreciation and health status. A total of 1349 participants (<i>M</i>_age = 19.42, <i>SD</i> = 1.51; 410 males, 939 females) were recruited for this study and the data were analyzed using a combination of path analysis and network analysis. The results reveal that outcome expectations positively predict physical activity. Body appreciation mediated the relationship between outcome expectation and physical activity. Furthermore, health status moderated the relationship between body appreciation and physical activity. Specifically, body appreciation did not influence physical activity for individuals with a low health status. Network analysis further revealed that there were more edges between body appreciation and physical activity in the high health status group compared to the low health status group. For individuals with a high health status, BA1 and PA1 exhibited the strongest connection among all the edges between body appreciation and physical activity. Outcome expectations play a significant role in physical activity, with body appreciation acting as a mediator. Health status moderates the effect of body appreciation on physical activity, suggesting that interventions targeting body appreciation may be more effective for individuals with a better health status. These findings offer insights for tailored physical activity interventions.