Exercise Behavior Among Coliege Students and Sex Differences in a Health-Promotive Intervention

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a university-based Life Fitness course on college students’ health behavior in terms ofthe number of hours students spent doing various types of exercise-related activities (moderate activities, hard activities, and very hard activities) before and after the course. Participants were asked to complete a series of questions regarding daily activity levels and habits both before and after the completion ofthe course. Results revealed significant increases in the mean number of hours spent on each type of exercise-related activity. Specifically, for moderate activities, there were significant main effects for time, Fp̌hantom1, 187) = 6.70, p = .01, n 2 = .04, and sex, Fȟantom1, 187) = 18.80, p textless .001, ri textasciicircum = .09, with increases in these activities across time and men reporting higher mean levels of this activity compared to women. For hard activities, there was a significant time xsex interaction, Fvǎntom1, 112) = 5.90, p = .03, r) textasciicircum = .04, indicating more dramatic increases for men during this period. For very hard activities, there was a significant main effect for sex, itextasciicircum(l, 112) = 11.40, /? textless .001, r) textasciicircum = .09, indicating that men reported higher mean levels ofthese activities relative to women. Findings yield important implications for future research on the relationship between health-promotive intervention and students’ health-related behaviors and the establishment of healthy attitudes and behaviors that persist into adulthood.

Publication
Psi Chi Journal of Reserach