ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2026
Bridging the intention-behavior gap in physical activity among pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus: a qualitative study of self-control strategy use and dynamics.
Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Use and Dynamic Adjustment of Self-Control Strategies in Physical Activity Engagement Among Young and Middle-Aged Stroke Patients: A Qualitative Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlthough pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) often intend to engage in physical activity (PA), they may struggle to translate these intentions into action. Self-control could support PA goal pursuit among this population, as it enables individuals to prioritize health goals over immediate rewarding temptations, such as the urge to rest or sedentary leisure. However, the role of self-control has received limited attention in the existing studies. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how pregnant women with GDM use self-control to bridge the gap between PA intention and behavior in daily life.
methodsA descriptive qualitative study was conducted. 24 pregnant women with GDM were recruited using purposive sampling at a tertiary hospital in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China, from April to May 2025. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
resultsThree themes were identified: conflict between the pursuit of PA goals and temptations, context-adaptive self-control strategies for PA, and dynamics of self-control for PA during pregnancy. Despite strong PA intentions driven by concerns for maternal and fetal health, pregnant women with GDM reported conflicts between their goals and temptations, with rationalization of temptations emerging as a key psychological process linked to reduced PA engagement. To manage this conflict, pregnant women with GDM employed four types of self-control strategies: internal drive strategies based on health cognition and self-motivation, autonomous construction of external supervision strategies, technology-enabled strategies, and behavioral automation strategies. Self-control for PA was found to be dynamic in response to metabolic, physical, and psychosocial contexts, characterized by feedback-driven goal adjustment, strategies switching, self-control failure coping, and self-control motivation fluctuation throughout pregnancy.
conclusionsThis study provides a self-control perspective to better understand and promote PA engagement in pregnant women with GDM. Healthcare providers may consider supporting these women to identify and reappraise rationalizations of temptations, develop a personalized repertoire of self-control strategies with technological support, and foster self-control motivation for PA habit formation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.