Relationships Between IKIGAI Well-Being and Motivation for Autonomous Regulation of Eating and Exercise for Health — Included the Relevance Between Sense of Coherence and Social Support

Background Self-regulated motivation is associated with better behavior change, health, and hedonic well-being in the health domain. Meanwhile, there are evidences that eudaemonic well-being contributes to health. As well as reducing lifestyle diseases, the promotion of IKIGAI well-being (encompassing hedonic and eudaemonic well-being) has been targeted in Japan. However, little is known about the impact of IKIGAI well-being on the motivation for health. This study explored the relationships between autonomous motivation for eating and exercise for health, IKIGAI well-being, sense of coherence, and social support. Methods The participants were 622 Japanese (269 males and 353 females, aged 20 to 59 years). They completed a questionnaire on motivation for healthy eating (MHE), exercise motivation for health (EMH), sense of coherence, social support, and IKIGAI well-being. Results IKIGAI well-being was positively associated to the relative autonomy index (RAI)-MHE and RAI-EMH. Social support exerted a positive effect on sense of coherence and IKIGAI well-being; sense of coherence positively affected IKIGAI well-being. The invariances of the model across groups, such as gender, age, and subjective economic status, were verified using multiple-group structural equation models. Conclusion With IKIGAI well-being as a mediating factor, social support and sense of coherence play important roles in promoting autonomous motivation for healthy eating and exercise.