Translating physical activity intentions into behavior in adults with overweight/obesity: The role of daily stressors and stress pile-up
Jimikaye B. Courtney, Aiden J. Chauntry, Paschal Sheeran
Psychology of Sport and Exercise3/1/2026·DOI·Read paper
Abstract
Purpose
Research shows an inconsistent association between psychological stress and physical activity (PA), which may be due to not considering the type of stress (daily stressors vs. accumulated daily stressors [i.e., stress pile-up]) and the role of PA intentions in PA behavior. This study investigated whether daily stressful experiences or stress pile-up moderate within-person associations between daily PA intentions and PA behavior.
Methods
Adults with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 wore an activPAL for 21 days to measure moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and completed morning diaries about PA intentions and evening diaries about stressful experiences. Two-part multilevel models tested within-person interactions between intentions, daily stress experiences and stress pile-up (stressor frequency, intensity, negative affect) across 21 days on odds and volume of MVPA.
Results
Participants (N = 91, Mage = 30.7 ± 6.5, 58 % female, 72 % White) experienced stressors on 32 % of days. On days with stronger intentions, participants had 49 % higher odds of doing MVPA and spent 26 % more time in MVPA (ps < 0.001). After adjusting for multiple comparisons, stress pile-up, but not daily stress experiences, moderated PA intention-behavior associations. Intentions were associated with time in MVPA when people experienced fewer than 10 stressors or stress intensity pile-up was less than 25.7 points but not when pile-up was higher (PRinteraction = 0.98 and 0.99, respectively).
Conclusions
Stress pile-up undermined the translation of PA intentions into behavior. This could promote a negative reinforcement cycle with stress pile-up reducing PA participation and reduced PA exacerbating people's stress responses. Effective stress-management could interrupt this cycle to promote better health.
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