Physical Activity Amongst College Students: Motivational Requisite for Public Health Education of Behavioural Regulation in Exercise

Samuel Joseph Bebeley; Michael Conteh; Christian Gendemeh

Volume : VII, Issue : III, March - 2018

Physical Activity Amongst College Students: Motivational Requisite for Public Health Education of Behavioural Regulation in Exercise

Samuel Joseph Bebeley, Michael Conteh, Christian Gendemeh

Abstract :

Background: Regular physical activity is a key factor in lifetime physical fitness and wellness with be� to self–determination under behavioural regulation in exercise, which could utilise maximum volume of oxygen, intake and expenditure of calories for healthy lifestyle and reduction in cardiac related diseases. As a result, physical activity under behavioural regulation in exercise plays a key role as a public health factor that relates to human movement that could utilise intake–and–expenditure of calories from macro–and–micro–nutrients for improved healthy lifestyle. This study aimed at scoring measured and evaluated factors of physical activity amongst college students: motivational requisite for public health education of behavioural regulation in exercise.

Methods: Adopted instrument for this survey was Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ). IBM–SPSSv.23 Statistics analyzed variables, with mean and standard deviation (M�SD) age (28.5�9.5) with response rate (100%) of sampled participants (N=500), ranged (19–38) years, selected through simple random sampling.

Results: Significant differences were tested at level of P<0.05, with highest scores recorded as follows: External Regulation: males (10.75�2.382), Introjected Regulation: females (7.72�1.918), Identified Regulation: females (7.07�3.428) and Intrinsic Motivation: females (6.44�2.656).

Conclusion and Recommendation: That the study favoured more males than females. That majority of the students responded to identified regulation, followed by external regulation, which however displayed clear evidence of self–determination of behavioural regulation in exercise for lifetime physical activity, fitness and wellness. In recommendation, it was stated that college administrators, clinicians, public health and physical educators should put modalities in place to encourage college students especially undergraduates to offer modules relating to lifetime physical fitness and wellness programmes for healthy lifestyle.