title: 'Sticking to a healthy diet is easier for me when I exercise regularly': cognitive transfer between physical exercise and healthy nutrition.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Long-term rehabilitation success depends on regular exercise and healthy nutrition. The present study introduces a new framework to explain this association on a psychosocial level. The exercise-nutrition relationship was investigated by exploring the sequential mediation of habit strength and transfer cognitions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses were performed at two measurement points in time (at 12 and 18 months after rehabilitation), involving 470 medical rehabilitation patients who participated in an exercise intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients filled in paper-pencil questionnaires assessing exercise (t1) and habit strength, transfer cognitions and healthy nutrition at follow-up (t2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Habit strength and transfer cognitions mediated the relationship between exercise and nutrition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that habit strength and transfer cognitions are important factors underlying the relationship between exercise and nutrition.
authors.affiliation: a Social and Economic Psychology , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin , Germany.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fleig
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kerschreiter
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwarzer
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pomp
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lippke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006184:Habits; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014163:Transfer, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: habit strength; healthy nutrition; multiple health behaviours; physical exercise; rehabilitation; transfer cognitions