Predicting the intention to perform physical activity in the elderly based on the theory of planned behavior

Today, with increasing the lifespan, the importance of health-promoting behavior and paying attention to maintaining individuals' function and autonomy are becoming increasingly evident and regular physical activity is considered as one of the important aspects of healthy lifestyle. This study aimed to apply the theory of planned behavior to predict the intention to do physical activity in the elderly. This study was conducted on the 371 elderly. A three-part questionnaire including demographic, knowledge, and theory of planned behavior questions was used. The views of the elderly were requested directly in this regard. According to the results, the elderly’s mean age was 69 and the sample included 53% women. The behavior intention in this study had a positive significant correlation with all planned behavior theory constructs. The perceived behavior control construct hold the most prediction power regarding the variance of the elderly’s intention of physical activity behavior. The constructs of theory could predict 26.7% of the variance of intention. Based on the results of this study, the theory of planned behavior was successful in predicting the elderly’s intention to do physical activity and the necessity of paying attention to the component is emphasized to teach intention to elderly people, considering the role of the perceived behavior control construct in predicting behavior intention.