Fessler, L., Orsholits, D., Le Faucheur, A., Rhodes, R.E., Cheval, B., & Sarrazin, P. (2025). Unravelling the Relationship Between Exercise-Induced Affective Responses and Daily Physical Activity in People with Chronic Diseases: Spillover or Confounding effect? SportRχiv. https://doi.org/10.51224/SRXIV.664 

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Objectives: Exercise-induced affective responses (ARs) may encourage people with chronic diseases (PCD) to engage in future physical activity (PA). However, research has predominantly examined average ARs rather than specific moments, and mechanisms linking ARs to subsequent PA remain unclear. This study examines whether AR timing during exercise differentially predicts daily moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) in PCD, exploring two pathways: the affect processing pathway (via remembered pleasure, anticipated pleasure and affective attitudes) and the self-efficacy pathway (via self-efficacy towards exercise and PA).

Design: Prospective correlational design.

Methods: 109 adults (M_age=66.6 years, 79% women) with chronic diseases reported ARs four times during exercise. Post-exercise measures included remembered and forecasted pleasure, self-efficacy, and confounders (body mass index, perceived exertion). Affective attitudes and self-efficacy towards PA were assessed 24h later. Daily MVPA was measured using accelerometers over seven days.

Results: Only the last AR significantly predicted daily MVPA (β=.24, p=.041), though this became non-significant after adjusting for confounders. ARs were associated with affective attitudes via remembered and anticipated pleasure, but affective attitudes did not predict MVPA (partial affect processing pathway). Conversely, the self-efficacy pathway was fully supported, with significant associations from ARs to daily MVPA via self-efficacy towards exercise and PA. However, while statistically significant, the effect size of this indirect pathway was small and potentially negligible (β = .05).

Conclusions: Exercise-induced ARs do not directly predict subsequent daily MVPA in PCD. This challenges the assumption that positive experiences during a supervised exercise session spontaneously translate into higher PA in everyday life.