Journal of Health and Social Sciences 2020; 5,3:387-396 The Italian Journal for Interdisciplinary Health and Social Development ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN PUBLIC HEALTH Testing Multi-Theory Model (MTM) in Predicting Physical Activity Behavior Among Upper Elementary School Children in Northern India Poonam KHANNA1, Tejinder Pal SINGH2, Tarundeep SINGH3, Rekha KAUSHIK4, Manoj SHARMA5 Affiliations: 1Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. 2 P.h.D., Division of Public Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA 3 M.D., Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. 4 Associate Professor, Department of Food Science, MMICT&BM(HM), MM(DU),Mullana, Ambala,Haryana, India. 5 Professor, Environmental & Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA Corresponding author: Rekha Kaushik, Department of Food Science, MMICT&BM(HM), MM(DU), Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India. E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Introduction: Physical inactivity in children is a precursor to childhood obesity, which is a major public health concern due to its increasing prevalence over the years. Aim of this study was to predict physical acti- vity (PA) behavior among upper elementary school children from Northern India through Multi -Theory Model (MTM). Methods: The Multi-Theory Model (MTM) was used to predict PA behavior among 214 upper elementary school children in District Ambala, Haryana, India. A 38-item Physical Activity (PA) questionnaire was used to assess the constructs of MTM.