ABSTRACT
Sports participation and physical activity (SPPA) is an important non-medical determinant of health and well-being. A substantial body of evidence clearly shows that regular engagement in SPPA is associated with several benefits ranging from feeling and sleeping better to reduced risk for many chronic diseases. Despite the myriad of benefits emanating from regular sports participation, a substantial percentage of individuals worldwide do not get enough physical activity through sports and other means to achieve sustainable health benefits. A key to successful policy interventions is understanding what contributes to an individual’s behavioral decision to be active over time. This chapter provides a review of theories and evidence on participation in sport and physical activity through the lens of behavioral economics and psychology. Recent evidence of the health benefits of physical activity and the risks of sedentary behavior along with the prevalence of physical activity is reviewed first. This review is followed by a synthesis of behavioral theories often applied to SPPA and evidence about the determinants and correlates of SPPA. The chapter concludes with a review of studies evaluating habit formation and the effectiveness of financial incentives for encouraging habit formation in SPPA.
