Physical Activity and Thinking: An Investigation of their Relationship

Todd McElroy, David Dickinson, Nathan Stroh and Christopher A. Dickinson

No 13-17, Working Papers from Department of Economics, Appalachian State University

Abstract: Physical activity level is becoming more recognized as a primary factor in overall human health and obesity. Humans possess a number of traits that influence their physical activity level. We examined whether having a high or low desire to engage in challenging mental activity predicted differences in daily physical activity levels. We recruited 30 high “need for cognition” (NFC) individuals and 30 low-NFC individuals and measured their physical activity level in 30-second epochs over a 1-week period. Low-NFC individuals were more physically active overall but this difference was most pronounced during the 5-day work week and lessened during the weekend. Awareness of this physical activity deficit and its negative consequences may encourage high-NFC individuals to be proactive and adopt lifestyle changes to increase their physical activity levels. Key Words: Daily activity, Cognition, Obesity, Risk

Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-hea and nep-hrm
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:apl:wpaper:13-17

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