PREDICTOR VARIABLES OF EXERCISE AND NUTRITION FOR EXPATRIATES IN INDONESIA UTILIZING PENDER'S HEALTH PROMOTION MODEL.

Description

The purpose of the study was to test a regression model designed to predict the health-promoting behaviors of exercise and nutrition. Pender's Health Promotion Model was the organizing framework. Pearson Correlations, ANOVAs and Standard Regressions were used to assess the relationship between health-promoting exercise and nutrition behaviors and the following cognitive-perceptual factors: perceived health status, importance of health, health conception, health locus of control, perceived self-efficacy of exercise and nutrition benefits and barriers of exercise and nutrition. and demographic factors (age, culture, income, education and gender). A total of 289 expatriate adults (38% Americans, 30% Australian and 33% British) currently living in West Java, Indonesia, voluntarily completed the survey. Health-promoting behaviors of exercise and nutrition were calculated by using the two subscales from the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile. Demographic and cognitive-perceptual factors which significantly correlated with exercise and nutrition behaviors were combined to predict exercise and nutrition. In the exercise regression equation, five independent variables (exercise benefits, exercise barriers, exercise self-efficacy, perceived health status and gender) were significant predictors of exercise behavior. In the nutrition regression equation, five independent variables (age, gender, nutrition barriers, nutritional benefits and nutritional self-efficacy) were significant predictors of nutrition behaviors. Of the three cultures, Americans significantly valued health more and performed more overall health behaviors than the Australian and British participants. The Australians perceived significantly more benefits from exercise than the other two cultures. Overall, seven cognitive-perceptual variables significantly correlated with the health-promoting behaviors of exercise, and eight cognitive-perceptual variables significantly correlated with the health promoting behavior of nutrition. These findings are consistent with the health-promotion literature and partially support Pender's Health Promotion Model (1987). Females were found to have significantly more exercise self-efficacy, have more total health-promoting behaviors and specifically, more nutrition behaviors than men. Men were found to be significantly different in their HLOC (powerful others) and nutritional barriers than women. Participants 40-49 years of age performed more exercise behaviors than the other younger or older age groups.

Subjects