Page 138 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

Pregnancy motivates new health behaviors.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To illustrate the six constructs, an overweight person with a family history of diabetes mellitus may perceive
a threat or risk of diabetes due to the family history. She may understand that she is susceptible and that there
could be serious consequences. She perceives that weight loss and more exercise are actions or behaviors that
are benefits in reducing the threat. She may question whether or not the barriers of lack of motivation, time,
and others can be overcome.

A cue to action may be that the relative’s condition has worsened. Benefits need to outweigh barriers to
action. As people weigh the pros and cons of a health behavior change, they make a decision as to whether or
not to take action. People with a high degree of confidence or self-efficacy will be more likely to be successful
in changing and improving health behaviors than those with a low level of confidence.23

The HBM may be helpful in analyzing people’s framework of thoughts about health actions especially
when they have no symptoms as well as examining their understanding of health behavior changes. A client’s
inaction or lack of adherence to recommended changes may be explained by examining the person’s thoughts
and perceptions when it comes to choosing and carrying out health behaviors. It has been suggested that
perceptions of severity could be more important to those already diagnosed with a disease and less important

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