Why looking at only one behaviour might be a mistake

Presented by: Prof. Thomas Webb, Department of Psychology, Co-Lead of the Healthy Lifespan Institute workstream: Optimising Behaviour Change

The idea that how people behave shapes important outcomes such as their health is not debated. However, scientists and practitioners often view behaviours in isolation - seeking to, for example, improve nutrition or increase levels of physical activity. The problem is that changing one behaviour can sometimes (perhaps even often) have knock on effects for other behaviours. For example, increasing physical activity may lead people to consume more calories. Such compensation or rebound may prevent the intended effect of the original change in behaviour - e.g., on weight loss or cardiac health. Given that everyday life is characterized by a wide range of behaviours, it is crucial to view individual behaviours as interconnected both within and across domains. So doing would help to develop our understanding of behaviour and improve the effect of behavioural interventions on outcomes like multimorbidity.