Predictors of physical activity among women in Bojnourd, north east of Iran: Pender’s health promotion model

BACKGROUND: This study examined how socio-demographic characteristics constructs derived from the health promotion model (HPM) influence the level of physical activity (PA) women in Bojnourd, North East of Iran. METHOD: This cross-sectional study has been carried out through multi-stage sampling design on 356 women aged 18–60 years living in Iran. Data was collected through reliable and valid questionnaire survey women who were selected from their homes. RESULTS: Most of participants (53.40%) had a low level of physical activity behaviors with minimal physical activity (PA) scores. Using regression analysis showed that 23.22% of the total variance in PA behaviors was predicted by socio-demographic variables, whilst 40.81% of the variance in PA behaviors was predicted by constructs from the HPM. The results from Path modeling indicated that prior behavior, interpersonal influences, perceived self-efficacy, perceived barriers and commitment to PA, were significant predictors for PA behaviors with 86.93% of total effects on PA, whereas, activity-related affect and situational influences had no significant effect on the PA behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: We found that constructs derived from the HPM are determinants of PA among Iranian women and may be important in developing educational intervention programs to facilitate a physically active lifestyle in this population. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13690-021-00698-x.