Easy or difficult? Investigating perceived ease of changing eating and physical activity behaviors.

Young adults found increasing food consumption and engaging in high-intensity physical activity easiest to change.

• Study 1 included young adults predominantly without chronic conditions (N = 435, Mage = 31.6)
• Participants indicated perceived ease of changing 21 aspects of eating and physical activity
• High-intensity PA was among the behaviors rated as easiest to change in this age group
• Study was preregistered and conducted online

Young adults found eating less and spending less time sitting most difficult to change.

• Reducing food consumption was rated as most difficult among the 21 behavior aspects assessed
• Spending less time sitting was also rated as highly difficult to change
• Sample was N = 435 young adults with mean age 31.6 years
• These findings contrast with the ease ratings for increasing consumption behaviors

Older adults found reducing consumption and sedentary behavior easiest to change.

• Study 2 included older adults predominantly with chronic conditions (N = 637, Mage = 57.2)
• Reducing consumption and sedentary behavior were rated as easiest among the 21 behavior aspects
• This pattern was opposite to that found in young adults for these behaviors
• Study was preregistered and conducted online

Older adults found increasing consumption and walking at least 10,000 steps most difficult to change.

• Walking at least 10,000 steps was rated among the most difficult behaviors to change in the older adult sample
• Increasing food consumption was also rated as highly difficult in this group
• Sample was N = 637 older adults with mean age 57.2 years, predominantly with chronic conditions
• This contrasts with younger adults who found increasing consumption relatively easy

Lower unhealthy food consumption correlated with perceiving reduction of that consumption as easier.

• Current behavior level was explored as a potential moderator of perceived ease
• The relationship between current consumption levels and perceived ease of reduction was observed across eating behaviors
• This suggests baseline behavior level influences perceived ease of change for eating behaviors

High physical activity levels did not always translate to perceiving further increases in PA as easier.

• Unlike the eating behavior pattern, current PA level did not consistently predict perceived ease of increasing PA
• This asymmetry between eating and PA behaviors was noted as a notable finding
• Current behavior was assessed alongside medical history, social comparison, and prior behavior change attempts as potential moderators

Results regarding prior behavior change attempts and social comparison as moderators were mixed across behaviors and samples.

• Prior attempts at behavior change and social comparison were assessed as potential moderators in both studies
• Neither variable showed consistent effects across the 21 behavior aspects or between the two age group samples
• Both studies assessed participants on medical history, social comparison, prior behavior change attempts, and current behavior
• The inconsistency suggests these factors may not be reliable universal moderators of perceived ease

The two studies recruited distinct age groups with different health profiles to examine perceived ease of behavior change.

• Study 1 included N = 435 young adults (Mage = 31.6) predominantly without chronic conditions
• Study 2 included N = 637 older adults (Mage = 57.2) predominantly with chronic conditions
• Both studies were preregistered and conducted online
• Participants rated perceived ease of changing 21 specific aspects of eating and physical activity behavior