title: The Power of Believing: Salient Belief Predictors of Exercise Behavior in Normal Weight, Overweight, and Obese Pregnant Women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nearly 50% of U.S. women enter pregnancy as overweight or obese (OW/OB). There is a critical need to understand how to motivate OW/OB pregnant women for exercise behavior to improve their health and reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine salient Theory of Planned Behavior belief predictors of normal weight (NW) and OW/OB pregnant women's exercise behavior (EXB) across pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pregnant women (N = 357) self-reported their exercise beliefs and behavior during each pregnancy trimester. Pearson correlations were used to examine exercise beliefs-behavior associations. Stepwise regressions were used to identify trimester (TRI) 1 and TRI 2 belief predictors of TRI 2 and TRI 3 EXB, respectively, for each weight status group. Belief endorsement was examined to identify critical beliefs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TRI 1 EXB beliefs explained 58% of the total variance (22% NW, 36% OW/OB) in TRI 2 EXB. TRI 2 EXB beliefs explained 32% of the total variance (17% NW, 15% OW/OB) in TRI 3 EXB. Individual beliefs varied by weight status and trimester. Control beliefs emerged with the lowest endorsement; making them most critical to target for exercise interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prenatal exercise interventions should be weight status specific and target salient beliefs/barriers unique to the pregnancy trimesters.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Exercise Psychology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
authors.forename: Danielle Symons
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Downs
authors.forename: Courtenay A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Devlin
authors.forename: Ryan E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Rhodes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States