Currently submitted to: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Mar 19, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 24, 2026 - May 19, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Intention Relevant to Zero-Time Exercise Among Chinese Sedentary Workers: Sequential Mediating Roles of Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Physical Activity Triggers
ABSTRACT
Background:
Prolonged sedentary behavior has become a pervasive occupational health concern in China. Zero-Time Exercise (ZTEx), which embeds brief movements into routine tasks, offers a promising low-threshold strategy to reduce inactivity. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying ZTEx adoption remain unclear, which may limit empirical guidance for the development of theory-informed and targeted workplace interventions among sedentary occupational groups.
Objective:
To examine the psychological mechanisms underlying intention to adopt ZTEx among Chinese sedentary workers, and to test a theory-informed sequential mediation model in which exercise motivation influences ZTEx-related intention through self-efficacy and physical activity triggers.
Methods:
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 790 adults in sedentary occupations across 20 Chinese provinces. Validated instruments measured exercise motivation, self-efficacy, physical activity triggers and ZTEx-related intention. Sequential mediation analyses (PROCESS Models 4 and 6) examined direct, indirect, and chain effects of motivation on intention via self-efficacy and triggers, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates.
Results:
Exercise motivation showed significant positive associations with self-efficacy, triggers, and ZTEx intention (all p < 0.001). Three mediation paths were identified: (1) via self-efficacy (B = 0.104, 95% CI [0.057, 0.155]); (2) via triggers (B = 0.157, 95% CI [0.110, 0.205]); and (3) a sequential effect through self-efficacy and triggers (B = 0.025, 95% CI [0.013, 0.039]). A direct effect remained significant (B = 0.167, 95% CI [0.088, 0.246]). The full model explained 28.5% of the variance in ZTEx-related intention.
Conclusions:
Guided by the COM-B framework and the Fogg Behavior Model, this study delineates a structured pathway linking exercise motivation, self-efficacy, and physical activity triggers in shaping ZTEx-related intention among adults in sedentary occupations. These findings indicate that interventions integrating motivational enhancement, efficacy support, and context-sensitive prompts may support the incorporation of low-threshold physical activity into routine sedentary work contexts.
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