Self-Determination Theory and Childhood Obesity: A Motivation Analysis

Childhood obesity has continued to cause various health related problems and poses a major threat for young adolescents. Children are becoming increasingly less involved in physical activities, and in a sense showing more signs of sedentary and lazy behaviors. In order to gain a better understanding on the issues it is important to fully comprehend the association between motivation and physical activity of this age range. The ever-popular concept of the self-determination theory allows for a larger outline for understanding specific differences in motivation. The purpose of paper is to show the important roles of self-actualization and self-determination, with more emphasis on the self-determination theory towards our own human growth and development towards the full self, especially that of young adolescents. In order to get a handle

With self-determination theory in order to be considered a “thriving and functioning self” it is essential for people to gain satisfaction within the three universal necessities which are as follows: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. According to the article Self-Determination Theory And Actualization of Human Potential (2013), “competence is the ability to interact effectively with a person’s environment, relatedness is the need for close and secure emotional bonds with significant others and feeling part of collectives such as leisure or political groups or even culture, and autonomy is said to be the sense of choice, willingness, and volition as one behaves”. With that being said, it is also important to develop the crucial autonomous behaviors that support one’s self in order for a person to truly be “full-functioning”, to which will tie directly into the issue of physical activity amongst the youth population and factors that may contribute, or aid in motivating them to become more physically active and overall lead a healthier, well-rounded