Effects of reading health and appearance exercise magazine articles on perceptions of attractiveness and reasons for exercise

Physical activity information seeking among emerging adults attending university

Objective To assess preferred sources of information for seeking physical activity (PA), and how PA information seeking may contribute to participation in a campus PA program. Participants: Students attending a large, Western Canadian university between April 2015 and April 2018. Methods: Secondary analysis of an annual campus-wide survey. Results: Students sought PA information for general health. Females sought information about weight loss for appearances; males sought information for muscle gain for appearance. Internet and friends were primary sources of PA information. Regression analysis indicated females 2.49 (95% CI 1.98-3.13), domestic students 2.86, 95% CI (2.04-4.02), and first year students 24.88, 95% CI (18.12-34.17) were most likely to participate in a campus PA program. Only health reasons significantly contributed to participation 1.42, 95% CI (1.06-1.89). Conclusions: Emerging adults attending university may benefit from PA promotion that makes use of their preferred information sources.

Reasons and Barriers for University Students' Leisure-Time Physical Activity: Moderating Effect of Health Education

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health education and motives and barriers for university students' engagement in leisure-time physical activity (PA). The research sample included 709 students (312 females and 397 males) in different years of study, ranging in age between 18-25 years. A questionnaire survey method revealed a significant positive relationship between fitness and health motives and students' leisure-time PA. External barriers were negative predictors of students' leisure-time PA, while more health education-related courses per week were positively associated with students' leisure-time PA. Finally, we found that the number of health education-related courses per week moderated the relationship between fitness and health motives and students' leisure-time PA. These findings suggest that university students' fitness and health motives and external barriers to be physically active outweigh other motives and barriers in determining their leisure-time PA. In addition, health education in university studies can effectively increase students' health-related motivation for PA.

Making one-sided exercise decisions: The influence of exercise-related cognitive errors

Exercise-related cognitive errors reflect biased processing of exercise-relevant information. The purpose of this study was to examine whether differences existed between individuals reporting low and high exercise-related cognitive errors on information processed about a relevant exercise decision-making situation. In all, 138 adults completed an online questionnaire. The high exercise-related cognitive error group primarily focused on negative content about the situation compared to the low exercise-related cognitive error group who focused on both positive and negative content. The high exercise-related cognitive error group displayed biased processing of exercise information, as suggested by the cognitive errors model. Future research should examine whether biasing information processing caused by exercise-related cognitive errors can be modified and attenuated.

Overcoming Challenges to Build Strong Physical Activity Promotion Messages

Physical inactivity is a serious public health issue. Physical activity promotion messages are part of a comprehensive approach to creating a society in which physical activity is the norm. Although public health messages can be influential, they face tough competition from other sources of physical activity information that offer conflicting advice about being active and thus may undermine public health efforts. It is therefore necessary to consider the multiple sources of messages (eg, commercial, public health) that can cause confusion for consumers. This article reviews research on sources of physical activity information, where such information is sought and by whom, and how messages are processed at both automatic (ie, with little thought) and reasoned (ie, deliberate) levels. Having outlined the challenges, suggestions are made regarding how public health messages can be heard in an environment dominated by commercial advertising. These suggestions include tailoring theory-based messages, ensuring the benefits of being active are highlighted, branding, and forging collaborative partnerships within the physical activity sector. By enacting these strategies, public health messages may be more effective at attracting attention and being subsequently read and recalled by consumers, and thus contribute to an active society.