EXPECTATION AND BELIEFS: INFLUENCE ON HEALTH BASED ON PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Abstract

Diogo Santos Teixeira y António Labisa Palmeira

A systematic literature review was developed with the aim to analyze the influence of individual beliefs and expectations on health interventions associated with physical activity (PA) and exercise (PE) in adult populations. The authors conducted a search in the PubMed, BioMed Central and Psycinfo databases between November and January of 2013. Six studies were included in this review. Despite limitations, it is apparent that the literature on this subject has been developed in recent years, however, there is still the need for further intervention studies related to PE and PA. For the behavioral modification, and with respect to the initiation and maintenance of physical exercise, it is assumed the importance of the beliefs of health and discomfort associated with the practice, indicating that the professionals associated with health promotion should act in order to readjust these beliefs. There seems to be a positive association between individual beliefs and intentions of starting some sort of PA or PE, or even to maintain the activity performed over time. The role of health related professionals, in order to adjust the individual beliefs that may be behind any limitations to practice, plays an extremely important role.