Pages: 5

This chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an introduction to the psychology of exercise behavior as well as an overview of physical inactivity behavior and models of health behavior change. It reviews the use and effectiveness of conventional and innovative intervention modalities to increase physical activity behavior. The book also provides a foundation for several cross-cultural and demographic considerations that practitioners need to note within a diverse and multicultural society. It provides a comprehensive account of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors in special populations and reviews strategies to address common issues to promote activity. The book outlines the effect of regular mindfulness practices on one’s experience, and offers empirical evidence and practical implications of mindfulness for increased exercise adoption and adherence. It places a special emphasis on clients’ cultural backgrounds to understand their habits and health behaviors.

Pages: 10

This chapter provides an understanding of sedentary behavior and considerations for population subgroups. It presents the relationship between sedentary behavior and health, describes different types of sedentary behaviors, and examines demographic factors to consider when conducting interventions/programs to address sedentary behaviors. The chapter also provides those intervening with individuals and groups the tools necessary to understand sedentary behavior, its unique influence on health, and the factors that should be taken into consideration when working with particular populations. Moving forward, research and practice-based programs should also aim to evaluate interventions for their long-term impact on reducing sedentary behaviors and improving health outcomes. Strategies for decreasing sedentary time can be divided into focusing on leisure time and focusing on work time. The leisure-time and work-time strategies are presented as suggestions and need to be tried to see what best fits into an individual’s lifestyle. Every sedentary behavior that is cut short or interrupted by physical activity will help in fighting the obesity epidemic.

Pages: 5

This chapter deals with clients to express the importance of promoting exercise/physical activity (E/PA) on a regular basis to overcome the issues as well as the reasons why current strategies often fail. Physical activity as exercise can also include participating in sport activities on a regular basis because most sport activities involve levels of structured activity with subsequent health benefits. An important tool for the practitioner is motivational interviewing (MI). MI can present benefits for encouraging exercise in day-to-day interactions with clients. Individuals would perceive exercise as an important part of who they are and engage in exercise on a regular basis. But even if a sense of exercise identity is not established, identity as an individual who engages in PA on a regular basis is still critical. Nevertheless, if clients hold negative perceptions of the term exercise and prefer the idea of engaging in PA, then adopting the term physical activity is acceptable.

Pages: 18

For a prolonged period, Western medicine and society have considered the mind and the body to be individual entities, acting separately from each other in influencing the psychological and physiological functions of the body. Even though William James advocated in his text, The Principles of Psychology, that the scientific study of psychology should be grounded in an understanding of biology, this concept has been slowly embraced by researchers. To date, investigations addressing topics of a psychobiological nature are often addressed from a unidirectional perspective, with the physiological or psychological aspects of responses often addressed singularly. Hence, researchers have tended to selectively ignore pertinent findings in the divergent areas. The reasons behind this disconnect between the psyche and the body are a paradox. Although mind-body interaction must be considered to gain greater understanding of the human experience, including the stress response and associated health outcomes, both investigative efforts and application of these principles are in their infancy.

Pages: 13

This chapter reviews the theories and models of exercise behavior and then demonstrates how the models can help inform practice to enhance the initiation and maintenance of exercise. It investigates some of the major theories and models that have been developed to help explain and predict exercise behavior. The health belief model is the most widely recognized enduring theoretical models associated with preventive health behaviors. The theory of planned behavior is an extension of the theory of reasoned action. The theory of reasoned action states that intentions are the best predictors of actual behavior. Since social cognitive theory argues for reciprocal determinism, exercise would influence feelings of self-efficacy. Although not a new theory, self-determination theory is a relative newcomer to the exercise psychology literature. Regarding physical activity, intervention research testing the tenets of transtheoretical model by focusing on matching stages of change to specific individual needs is extensive in demonstrating the link between stages of change and physical activity levels.

Pages: 16

This chapter provides an overview of two alternate applied models of health behavior change with a focuses on exercise behavior and adherence: the disconnected values model and the intentional development model. From individual psychosocial variables to changes at the social and structural levels, the models integrate comprehensive theories inherent in behavioral psychology, exercise psychology, and positive psychology, with practical applications for exercise researchers, practitioners, and participants. The chapter attempts to provide strategies to create the personal energy and situational conditions that will promote a healthy lifestyle and the motivation to change the way people live. National and global objectives have called for developing innovative scientist–practitioner interventions that promote a person’s decision to start and maintain an exercise program and other forms of physical activity. The Intentional Development Model encompasses the details needed for purposeful change and includes all the mechanisms and processes by which change occurs. The model uses an eco-developmental approach, focusing on both ecological and personal change over time.

Pages: 6

“Excusercise” is “getting exercise out of making excuses for not exercising.” This twist of a phrase/play-on-words is a small attempt at including humor in addressing the serious subject of sedentariness. A sedentary lifestyle is most likely the leading factor behind the mortality rate associated with our current obesity epidemic. Most individuals would prefer to be physically active, but have many different excuses for not participating on a regular basis or participating irregularly in exercise/sport/physical activity. This chapter explores the nature of excuses for not participating in exercise/sport/physical activity and proposes strategies for overcoming the barriers associated with non-participation. The excuse most frequently used by individuals, “Not Enough Time,” is presented, with strategies proposed that are effective in addressing this excuse.

Pages: 27

This chapter addresses the exercise conundrum of so many benefits and so few participants and explores the possibility that a hedonic paradigm can be employed to influence participation in physical activity and exercise throughout the various stages of one’s life. The research synthesized in this chapter tends to focus on exercise, both acute and chronic, rather than physical activity as a reflection of the available research related to mood alteration and subjective well-being, i.e., the feeling good phenomenon often reported by exercisers. This chapter employs the hedonic paradigm to focus on exercise enjoyment and other exercise parameters that are associated with the mood benefits of exercise and physical activity. A paradigm shift that changes a person’s view of exercise from something that one should do toward something that one wants to do is greatly needed. Of particular importance is the ability to accommodate personal preferences and personality characteristics, and to adjust exercise parameters such as mode, intensity, duration, and frequency to maximize exercise pleasure and enjoyment. Berger’s exercise taxonomy highlights the need for exercise enjoyment and key exercise mode and training parameters for enhancing the psychological benefits of exercise, and supports the hedonic paradigm. One set of exercise guidelines for enhancing exercise enjoyment and mood alteration does not fit all individuals. Thus, the taxonomy parameters need to remain flexible to build on emerging research findings. In reflection of the scientist-practitioner model, designing exercise programs that encourage large segments of the population to become lifetime exercisers remains a challenging, multifaceted endeavor that is both a science and an art.

Pages: 17

This chapter explores how personal resources related to exercise and environmental resources related to exercise can contribute to well-being. It reviews subjective well-being, a key construct in well-being research. The chapter develops a theoretical framework for understanding the role of exercise in well-being, building on social-ecological models and provides research findings on environmental resources related to exercise. The chapter discusses the constructs of behavioral involvement and psychological involvement, which represent measures of personal resources related to exercise, and this is followed by the constructs’ potential contribution to well-being. It focuses on subjective well-being, a subjective assessment of people’s quality of life. The chapter proposes that personal and environmental resources individually and jointly contribute to well-being. It uses behavioral involvement and psychological involvement as measures of personal resources related to exercise. The chapter concludes with practical recommendations and future directions for exercise and well-being research.

Pages: 18

This chapter discusses considerations for implementing psychological skills training (PST), such as targeting readiness for change, self-confidence, intentions, attributions, environment, thoughts and feelings, arousal regulation, attention, motivation, expectations and habits, social support, and group cohesion. It provides an overview of potential approaches, interventions, and uses of PST strategies for developing psychological skills in individuals in order to improve adoption and adherence to exercise. Practitioners should note that a theory-based approach to designing and implementing PST interventions aids in the understanding of what, when, why, and how to include various PST strategies and techniques for sustainable exercise behavior change. Research indicates that PST can be used to improve psychological skills in a large variety of performance contexts. While such research is not without methodological limitations, findings generally indicate that PST results in positive outcomes for both sport and non-sport performers. Research has provided support for the impact of self-efficacy on behavior.

Pages: 16

This chapter reviews the use of imagery and selects sensory modalities for facilitating decreased perception of effort and increased positive affective responses to exercise. It reviews innovative intervention strategies, including the use of mental imagery and olfactory, visual, and auditory stimuli. The chapter discusses empirical evidence pertaining to their effectiveness for facilitating perception of effort and optimizing affective responses to exercise. The chapter outlines potential use of relatively unexplored sensory modalities. It identifies gaps in the literature and provides recommendations for researchers. Research into the effectiveness of imagery for reducing perception of effort in exercise has focused on the change in effort perception, dominant attention focus, and time on task while using imagery during exercise. In the exercise domain, music can be used in both synchronous or asynchronous manners. The chapter concludes with practical implications and guidelines for best using these to promote long-term physical activity behavior in individuals.

Pages: 11

This chapter describes how advanced technological modalities may inform the approaches to exercise motivation and adherence within applied settings. It outlines socio-technical considerations of exercise technology. An overview of how different hi-tech modalities have been incorporated into exercise settings is presented. The chapter discusses new frontiers for technological development in exercise settings, and offers practical recommendations. It summarizes the importance of considering “person-task-context” information and technological factors in the prescription of hi-tech equipment to exercisers. The chapter forecasts potential avenues of development for hi-tech modalities related to exercise psychology applications. Technology is the practical application of knowledge. As such, it has infinite possibilities, ranging from nuclear chemistry to genetic engineering. Rather, the focus is on presenting established modalities as well as trends and newly developed applications. Specifically, the following modalities are presented: psycho-physiological monitoring, positioning monitoring, and everyday technology. Psycho-physiological monitoring relies on multimodal and non-invasive sensors to acquire signals from a living organism.

Pages: 13

This chapter offers an overview of the target population, principles, types, benefits, and educational perspectives of exergaming and outlines the target population of exergames. The chapter presents governing principles of exergame systems as well as a description of the different types of exergames. It discusses the physical and psychosocial benefits of playing exergames in light of empirical research, as well as educational applications and future perspectives on exergaming. Exergames are characterized by two important characteristics. First, exergame development stems from a solid theoretical basis, deriving many of its principles from mainstream psychology as well as sport and human movement sciences. Furthermore, exergames rely on interactive features, multimedia channels, and dynamic interfaces. Video game technology relies on software engineering, logics, and artificial intelligence concepts. Although research on exergaming is in the initial stages, growing evidence suggests positive physical and psychosocial outcomes of active video game playing. Exergaming may reduce body self-consciousness while increasing self-esteem and efficacy beliefs in obese adolescents.

Pages: 11

This chapter discusses measurement approaches used for the outcomes of physical activity intervention and provides examples and sample measurement tools. Approaches to the measurement of barriers and enjoyment in the psychological domain are presented. The chapter discusses adherence in the behavioral domain. Adherence is important, but also whether or not physical activity routine is sustained outside of the intervention, as this allows researchers to gain insight into the long-term effects of the intervention. The chapter illustrates why researchers and practitioners should consider measuring beyond the specific physical activity behavior when evaluating the impact of their physical activity interventions or programs. A focus on barriers, enjoyment, and adherence is provided and tools that are useful for assessment are offered. Although some researchers have studied theories and their application to physical activity maintenance, this area of research is quite limited.

Pages: 17

This chapter discusses how policy and the environment work together to influence physical activity participation with specific setting illustrations. It focuses on physical connections, pathways, and linkages. Transportation between micro-level environments is a primary component of the meso-level environment and should be an important focus for policies encouraging physical activity. Local policies can expand and improve public transportation options to effectively increase physical activity, as the use of buses, subways, and light rails typically involves active transportation to and from established stops or stations. Policies that affect roadway improvements, such as the addition or improvement of bike lanes, pedestrian pathways, and way-finding signage, can also improve transportation-related meso-level environment by increasing physical activity via enhancing safety. The chapter discusses cross-level policy interactions, illustrated by specific examples of particular interest to health researchers and promoters. It describes the level of ecological model of physical activity to emphasize the endless possible combinations of built environments and policies that can co-exist to promote physical activity.

Pages: 13

This chapter focuses on stories articulated in narratives, as pathways for raising cultural awareness concerning cultural identities and exercise behavior. It revisits cultural sport psychology (CSP) tenets through a discussion of cultural competence and reflective practice, to set the stage for narrative inquiry tenets, in this process. It draws on research from story analyst and storyteller approaches in sport and exercise contexts, to show the value of each for cultural awareness of a specific topic in exercise promotion: motherhood, and exercise. The chapter concludes by summarizing points for practitioners to consider and adapt, intertwined with CSP and narrative inquiry tenets. Points are offered for enhanced cultural awareness, personal reflection, and to create opportunities for individuals as cultural beings with intersecting identities, in exercise contexts.

Pages: 13

Gender identity refers to the degree to which a person sees themself as masculine or feminine, given society’s definition of what it means to be a man or woman. Society decides what being male or female means, with males generally defining themselves as masculine and females defining themselves as feminine. Gender socialization is the process by which people learn to behave in a certain way, as dictated by societal beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms. These gender norms are learned through a variety of socializing agents, including parents and caregivers, mass media, educators, school curriculum, extracurricular activities, religion, and peers. Studying gender and its role in exercise is important for a number of reasons. It is of primary importance due to the multitude of health benefits associated with regular exercise. Gender has been found to play a role in the nature and type of barriers faced by an individual.

Pages: 10

Women of color have higher rates of overweight and obesity than White women. Researchers propose various reasons for these rates, and successful clinical interventions for women of color are yet to be implemented in a long-term fashion. Research exploring racial and ethnic minority women’s perceptions of food, health, physical activity, and barriers to healthy living is needed to further understand such disparities as well as to create successful, clinically tailored interventions. A successful exercise intervention is one tailored to address women’s perceptions of physical activity, coping, and strength through a convenient, culturally sensitive program. Culturally specific or community-based programs should focus on implementing strategies for physical activity that educate, motivate, and promote adherence to exercise for women of color. The epidemic of obesity has also reached the Native American community. Documentation is limited on barriers for Native American women to adhere to physical activity or other positive health behaviors.

Pages: 13

This chapter discusses the link between exercise adherence and each of the three socioeconomic status (SES) indicators, i.e., education, income, and occupation. It also discusses common barriers, including time orientation, attitudes, lack of accessibility, and lack of social support, in relation to the SES indicators. According to the American Psychological Association, SES is defined as the social standing or class of an individual or group, taking into account three related, but distinct, indicators: social, economic, and work statuses. Educational attainment is a major dimension of SES and social class because education itself is symbol of status. Furthermore, education is closely related to the other dimensions, income and occupation. Higher levels of education allow individuals to enter professional or “white-collar” jobs and increase their earning potential. Income, another component of SES, can be a considerable barrier to exercise participation for low-SES individuals. Goal setting, perhaps the most common behavior change technique, is an integral component of evidence-based behavior change theories.

Pages: 11

This chapter examines how everyday understandings of the ways in which sex assignment at birth, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation are embodied by athletes, scripted across binary gender norms, and inspected by others through surveillance. It addresses the following questions: What are sexual orientation and gender? What is heteronormativity and binary gender expression? And why should sport and exercise psychology professionals wrestle with these constructs? It focuses on theory related to gender identity and expression based on a brief theoretical review and explicates why lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues are important to consider in general and why they matter in physical activity contexts. Two personal narratives are presented to illustrate some of the identity issues that may be associated with being a non-binary athlete. The chapter also analyzes the heteronormative narrative that falsely collapses gender expression into sexual orientation.

Pages: 12

The medical model of disability locates the problem of disability within the individual. Health professionals diagnose and attempt to treat or otherwise address the impairments that people “have.” The social model of disability, however, locates the problem of disability within society. Developed within the civil and human rights movements, the social model indicates that impairments do not cause disabilities. In addition to dealing with various degrees of an unaccommodating society, individuals with disabilities have to cope with the impairments themselves. The emotional distress from acquired disabilities, however, may not always follow the expected trajectory of decreasing as time passes. Although the evidence of the physical, psychological, and social benefits of physical activity for people with disabilities is overwhelming, the majority of individuals with disabilities are sedentary. When exercise practitioners work with people with disabilities, the disability is rarely the main focus.

Pages: 29

This chapter provides information regarding children’s and adolescents’ physical activity patterns, shares known explanations for the patterns, and reviews methods for engaging children and adolescents in physical activity. Moderators and mediating factors known to foster and sustain physical activity participation are discussed. Emphasis is placed on how to provide opportunities for fun experiences so that physical activity habits acquired during childhood and adolescence become lifelong health behaviors. For age-related differences, maturation seems to be an important factor to consider, as disparities exist between children and adolescents. Ethnicity, as defined by a group with cultural characteristics in common, has been shown to be related to physical activity levels in youth. Global positioning system, geosocial, and exergaming applications can be installed on smartphones and tablets, allowing children and adolescents to use them outside and away from home and school. Physical activity is important to health and well-being, but is critically important to the development of the child through adolescence and into adulthood.

Pages: 18

This chapter examines research findings that bear upon aging in relation to exercise—with particular reference to psychological considerations. It takes the form of interpretation and application of information for readers whose professional commitments involve understanding and guiding the motivations and behaviors of active elderly individuals. This population might be of interest to some sport psychology consultants, as elderly persons are living longer than ever before. The chapter provides answers to some of the following questions: What are the specific mechanisms underlying the psychological correlates of health and wellness? Does exercise induce neuromolecular alterations in the central nervous system of participants and influence various psychological functions? It explains the physiological, cognitive, and psychosocial dynamics underlying the aging process. Additionally, the chapter discusses the concepts of wellness, fitness, and health vis-à-vis exercise as well as exercise characteristics. It focuses on exercise as a putative inhibitor of aging and its “fountain of youth” potential, including pointed reference to the effects of physical activity.

Pages: 14

This chapter begins with various communication styles and behaviors, as well as examples to demonstrate their appropriate application. It addresses the importance and relevance of understanding the factors that may influence clients’ exercise habits and health behaviors, such as their cultural background. The chapter establishes various methods to help communicate and build rapport with a client. Communication style and communication behavior can mean the difference between what is heard by someone and what is absorbed and understood, which can then translate into long-term behavior change. Effective communicators are able to choose their actions from a wide range of behaviors, sometimes integrating more than one approach. Knowing how to pick the one that stands the best chance of success is a skill in and of itself and takes time and practice to master. The chapter ends with a discussion of the basics of the motivational interviewing technique as a structural framework for how to conduct a productive, and person-centered conversation with a client.

Pages: 35

Obesity is associated with significant physiological and psychological challenges that uniquely transform the exercise experience. This chapter presents an overview of the psychological issues that practitioners should be prepared to address. Contemporary dual-process theories, which incorporate the important role of affective experiences in human motivation, provide the framework for this analysis. Besides physiological challenges, individuals with obesity must deal with unrealistic weight loss expectations, negative attitudes, social physique anxiety, fear, and perceptions of anti-obesity bias. Exercise practitioners should help individuals with obesity refocus their efforts on achieving long-term, ideally lifelong, adherence rather than short-term, quickly reversible, changes in weight or appearance.

Pages: 14

This chapter explicates the relationship between exercise and mental health conditions through a review of relevant theories and empirical investigations. Generic information is followed by research that addresses specific mental health conditions. Information is presented concerning current understandings of the biopsychosocial reasons for the interaction between exercise and mental health. Competent practice is then articulated. The chapter offers information regarding one or another aspect of mental health on nearly a daily basis. The Latin phrase solvitur ambulando, or “it is solved by walking,” is an apt description of the effectiveness of physical activity in regard to a number of mental health conditions. Most frequently, research in regard to exercise and mental health has used aerobic exercise as the measure of physical activity. Meta-analyses routinely point to the lack of agreement regarding terminology and the wide variability in research design. The chapter concludes with some concerns and future directions for research, training, and practice.

Pages: 10

This chapter provides diagnostic elements of exercise addiction, including references for measurement tools for determining whether exercise addiction is present. It offers a variety of counseling strategies for addressing exercise addiction in clients. The chapter shows that individuals start exercising as a healthy habit. As they become more and more involved, for a variety of reasons, they may start engaging in it more often, to the point where the exercise behavior may take over their lives and control them. Exercise psychologists who are not also licensed in clinical/counseling psychology should collaborate with others who are licensed to avoid working outside the ethical scope of practice. Some clients may feel comfortable with being addicted to exercise and may even see their addiction as a badge of honor. But most exercisers would prefer not to be addicted/controlled and would prefer to have exercise as a healthy habit.

Pages: 17

This chapter focuses on relevant psychological theories and research with the goal of providing insight into the factors affecting persons with exercise injuries who journey from motivation to adherence. It examines key definitions, concepts, and relevant theoretical foundations for understanding individuals’ reactions to exercise-related injury. The chapter discusses the existing research pertaining to individuals’ psychological reactions to exercise injuries. It evaluates research to date in relation to individuals’ readiness for the post-injury behavior change required to maintain motivation during rehabilitation and subsequent return to physical activity. This will be followed by examples of evidence-based practice and suggestions for future research and practice. The chapter provides theoretical frameworks on, and practical solutions for, the psychological process of exercise injury. It explains a definition from sport injury rehabilitation literature in which “adherence is seen as the extent to which an individual completes behaviors as part of a treatment regimen designed to facilitate recovery from injury.”

Pages: 27

This chapter provides definitions and information on diagnostic and statistical elements of Social physique anxiety (SPA), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and muscle dysmorphia (MD), which is a particular type of BDD. It also provides commentary on the theoretical background of the mechanisms that play an essential role in the development of SPA and MD among exercisers and physically active individuals. The chapter explains the main topics and associated concepts in vignettes to illustrate experiences of SPA and MD, and how they relate to exercise and physical activity. It describes variables that have been linked to SPA and MD, including potential causes, moderators, mediators, and other correlates. The chapter examines theoretically grounded recommendations for professionals working with physically active individuals who portray symptoms of SPA and/or MD. It focuses on how individuals with heightened SPA levels deal with experiences of anxiety and the coping strategies used to manage unwanted potential ramifications.

Pages: 23

The focus of this chapter is on what is known related to eating disorders and exercise rather than sport. Eating disorders are currently classified by the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) as feeding and eating disorders. This chapter will only focus on disorders historically classified as eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder. This chapter initially addresses what eating disorders are and the risk factors for developing an eating disorder. It focuses on how exercise can be misused in the context of an eating disorder and addresses how exercise may be beneficial in the treatment of an eating disorder. This chapter also focuses on excessive exercise in general, regardless of whether the individual does or does not have an eating disorder. Working with individuals with eating disorders is challenging work and requires a treatment team for an effective outcome. The chapter concludes with a section on how to help someone suspected of having an eating disorder.

Pages: 20

This chapter introduces the concept of mindfulness, highlights how mindfulness has been an integral component of some exercise, and discusses how mindfulness-based approaches can further be used to enhance exercise engagement and adherence. Within the field of exercise psychology, there is a strong interest in understanding what contributes to enhancing self-regulation with the end goal of engaging consistently in healthy physical activity. Mindfulness approaches have demonstrated efficacy for clinical issues, particularly stress reduction for those with physical diseases and reduction of psychological disorders, such as anxiety and depression. The chapter considers the use of mindfulness-based strategies for the non-clinical exercise population to help enhance well-being. It offers an overview of what mindfulness is and how mindfulness changes one’s present moment experience, a consideration of mindfulness research and mindfulness-based programs within sport and exercise psychology. Based on the review of research in general psychology, sport, and recreational sport, higher levels of mindfulness positively contribute to exercise engagement and enjoyment.

Pages: 15

This chapter introduces the basic tenets of positive psychology and explores how positive psychology interventions may also help individuals adopt regular physical activity and adhere to exercise programs. It argues that goal setting is one of the most effective and empirically supported methods for enhancing motivation and adherence to exercise and physical activity. The chapter also argues that several theoretical concepts from positive psychology can enhance the understanding of the nuances of the goal-setting process. It examines several validated positive interventions that may also provide a new perspective to augment practices, in addition to the well-established approaches practitioners are already using to guide clients toward health goals. The chapter provides suggestions for positive interventions that may make goal setting even more effective. It discusses future directions and implications of bridging the two fields in the spirit of enabling well-being and flourishing, both physically and psychologically.

Pages: 13

This chapter begins with the introduction of several common medical conditions that a client may present, and while a new client may not present any of these at the onset of receiving services, any of these conditions can develop over time. These conditions are in no particular order, and the information provided is basic in nature but comprehensive enough to allow for initiating a dialogue about personal medical and behavioral practices and beliefs of a client. Stress itself is not a medical condition. However, stress is one of the dominating factors that can promote the development of what are known as lifestyle diseases. While various population groups have higher or lower percentages of obesity, the condition is at pandemic proportions and has many associated medical conditions that can affect an individual’s ability to exercise safely. Overweight clients may not yet be diagnosed with any of the associated chronic medical conditions.

Pages: 8

This chapter encompasses the training of exercise psychology professionals. It addresses the ethical issues surrounding content knowledge, training, and practical experiences related to applied exercise psychology. The chapter presents a framework for practitioners who want to ensure they are professionally trained and ethically sound in the practice of applied exercise psychology. It focuses on the definition of applied exercise psychology as applying psychosocial principles to promote and maintain leisure physical activity. Much like sport psychology, the definition of exercise psychology depends on an individual’s training. For example, if an individual is trained primarily in mental health counseling, then applied exercise psychology involves integrating physical activity into therapeutic modalities in order to reduce negative and promote positive emotional states. To increase the number of qualified exercise psychology professionals, it is imperative that graduate programs increase the number of courses and experiences offered related to the field. Another ethical issue in applied exercise psychology is the emergence of multiple roles with a client.