TITLE:
Evaluating Adolescents’ Reasons to Participate in Physical Activity: Alternative Approaches and Alternative Benefits
AUTHORS:
Geoffrey A. Meek, Vandita Prasad
KEYWORDS:
Profile Analysis, Overweight, Obesity, Lifestyle Physical Activity, Health Benefits, Attitudes
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.10 No.3,
August
28,
2020
ABSTRACT: The purpose of the study was to examine reasons to participate as
precursors to increasing physical activity of adolescents who are low active
and/or have an unhealthy weight status. Adolescents (N = 173) from an urban high school were grouped by two composite
measures of weight status-perceived fitness, and effort-involvement physical
activity. Adolescents completed an adapted eight-question survey based on Kenyon’s (1968) multidimensional evaluative model of physical activity. Profile analyses
examined group mean differences for reasons to participate and a one-way ANOVA
examined group mean differences for physical activity behavior.For the reasons
to participate profiles, the weight-status perceived-fitness groups reported
significant differences for the tests of levels and flatness. The
effort-involvement physical activity groups reported significantly different
parallel profiles, levels, and
flatness. For physical activity behavior, the weight-status perceived-fitness
groups reported significant mean differences. We discussed the practical
implications of grouping weight-status with
perceived-fitness to reflect lifestyle, and the importance of light
effort as part of the effort-involvement physical activity variable. We also
examined the practical implications for physical educators and physical activity leaders of the different and common
evaluative profiles, and physical activity behavior of adolescents for
health benefits, and other participatory reasons.