The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has reached epidemic levels in developed countries and this is of substantial clinical and public health concern. Physical activity is a key component of the expenditure aspect of energy balance, providing a major avenue for caloric consumption. Regular physical activity has favorable effects on weight maintenance and/or loss, improved psychological wellbeing, and cardiovascular fitness in adolescents According to social cognitive theory, self-efficacy has a central influence on exercise behavior.
Researchers have found that interventions which build perceptions of self-efficacy in youth can increase participation in physical activity . In a study of 5th grade students living in a rural, predominately African American community, those students categorized as having significantly lower self-efficacy for seeking social support from significant others for being physically active were less physically active than their counterparts .
The Children’s Self-perceptions of Adequacy in and Predilection for Physical Activity (CSAPPA) is a measure of generalized self-efficacy toward physical activity, and has been shown to be a significant predictor of children’s participation in both free play and structured activities . The CSAPPA captures the critical elements of whatBandura [9] originally described as generalized self-efficacy perceived adequacy to be physically active and predilection for active over sedentary pursuits. There is a lack of understanding regarding self-efficacy toward physical activity in overweight and obese African American boys and girls, including those who reside in innercity, low-income communities. This is a critical component for the design and development of successful physical activity interventions targeting this high risk population.
Previous physical activity interventions have reported weak effectiveness in increasing physical activity among youth , due in part to a failure to adequately focus the intervention on theoretically-based mediators of physical activity. The importance of focusing on physical activity mediators, is apparent as interventions that did not focus adequately on PA mediators had little or no impact, whereas programs with this focus demonstrated greater impact . Potentially, a more successful approach to physical activity interventions would target those psychosocial determinants that correlate with the amount physical activity engaged in by the child, and which can putatively influence volitional behavior .