# Compensatory Health Beliefs as a Double-Edged Sword: A Dual-Path Model of Licensing and Cognitive Erosion in Multiple Health Behaviors

## TL;DR

This study explores how beliefs about compensating for unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones can both encourage and hinder overall health behavior.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a dual-path model showing how compensatory health beliefs both license and inhibit health behaviors.

## Key findings

- Compensatory health beliefs increase physical activity intention but reduce healthy eating intention and behavior.
- Lower healthy eating self-efficacy due to compensatory beliefs inhibits integrated health planning.
- The dual-path model reveals both short-term licensing and long-term inhibition effects of compensatory health beliefs.

## Abstract

Compensatory Health Beliefs (CHBs) are cognitions that the negative effects of unhealthy behaviors can be offset by healthy ones. While their role in single behaviors is established, their mechanisms in regulating multiple health behaviors remain empirically unclear, particularly whether CHBs facilitate or inhibit actual cross-behavior compensation between physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE). This study tested a dual-path model proposing that CHBs are associated with immediate intention compensation via moral licensing and with long-term cross-behavior inhibition through reduced self-efficacy. A cross-sectional online survey of 366 university students assessed general CHBs, domain-specific social cognitive variables (self-efficacy, intention, planning), and self-reported PA (IPAQ-SF) and HE (calculated from reported food consumption as a dietary guideline adherence score). Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. We found that CHBs were positively associated with PA intention but negatively linked to HE intention, planning, and behavior. CHBs were also negatively related to HE self-efficacy, which was subsequently associated with lower PA planning, indicating a cross-behavior inhibition pathway. In conclusion, CHBs are linked to lower health behavior engagement through two pathways: short-term intention-based licensing across domains and self-efficacy erosion that inhibits integrated planning. This integrated model highlights the importance of addressing both CHBs and self-efficacy in health interventions.