Body-related emotions and subsequent physical activity behaviour: An ecological momentary assessment.

Body-related shame and guilt are theorized to be time-varying affective determinants of physical activity, yet research has predominantly relied on self-report measures of physical activity and between-person associations. To address these limitations, the present study used ecological momentary assessment to examine within- and between-person associations between body-related shame and guilt, and subsequent time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) measured by continuously worn accelerometers. University students (n = 98; 79.6% female; mage = 19.45) were prompted 49 times over seven days to report body-related shame and guilt, and wore activPAL accelerometers to monitor movement behaviours. Higher levels of within-person body-related guilt, but not shame, were associated with increased subsequent time spent in MVPA. Contrary to existing literature, neither body-related shame nor guilt demonstrated a significant association with average levels of MVPA between individuals. These findings support theoretical propositions that body-related guilt may impact engagement in physical activity in daily life.

Body image flexibility and exercise motivation: A two-sample replication study.

Body image flexibility - defined as one's ability to accept positive and negative body-related experiences - is theorized to promote adaptive motivational and behavioural outcomes. To date, there is a dearth of literature examining how body image flexibility is related to exercise motivation, a key predictor of exercise behaviour. The purpose of this study was to examine prospective within- and between-person associations between body image flexibility and autonomous and controlled exercise motivation in two independent samples. In Study 1 (N = 204) and Study 2 (N = 165), university students completed online surveys once a week for three weeks. Findings were consistent across studies, whereby during weeks when participants experienced higher than usual body image flexibility, they reported lower levels of controlled motivation (bs = -0.13 to -0.09, ps < .001). Further, participants with higher average levels of body image flexibility reported lower average scores of controlled motivation (bs = -0.30 to -0.27, ps< .001). Body image flexibility was not associated with autonomous motivation in either study. The findings provide novel insights on the relationship between body image flexibility and exercise motivation and identify body image flexibility as a potential modifiable factor that may be associated with lower controlled exercise motivation in daily life.

Does self-compassion buffer the detrimental effect of body shame on depressive symptoms?

Researchers have identified that experiences of body-related shame significantly contribute to heightened depressive symptoms, and therefore it is valuable to identify and understand potential factors that buffer this relationship. The present study examined the cross-sectional relationship between body-related shame and depressive symptoms separately among women and men, and tested self-compassion as a potential moderator. Data from a sample of 520 adults (42.3 % women; Mage = 35.43, SD = 10.09 years) recruited through MTurk were analyzed using moderated regression analysis. Results indicated that body-related shame was positively and significantly associated with frequency of depressive symptoms. Additionally, self-compassion moderated the relationship between body-related shame and depression among women, but not men, even after controlling for self-esteem. Specifically, women with lower levels of self-compassion reported a significantly stronger relationship between body-related shame and depressive symptoms, and at higher levels of self-compassion, there was no relationship between body shame and depressive symptoms. These findings have practical implications and suggest that low levels of self-compassion may increase the risk of depressive symptoms, and high levels of self-compassion may be protective among women that experience body-related shame.