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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FACTORS AFFECTING EXERCISE BEHAVIOR AND PHYSICAL FITNESS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

RELAÇÃO ENTRE OS FATORES QUE AFETAM O COMPORTAMENTO DO EXERCÍCIO E A APTIDÃO FÍSICA ENTRE ALUNOS UNIVERSITÁRIOS

ABSTRACT

This research used causal research design to study the relationship of the various factors and exercise behaviors affecting the physical fitness of university students based on the PRECEDE FRAMEWORK. The objectives included the following: (1) to compare the personal factors that influenced exercise behavior; (2) to study the relationship between the predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors; and exercise behaviors; and (3) to compare the level of exercise behavior affecting physical fitness. The sample group were simple random sampling. This research consisted of the questionnaire and physical fitness test of five items on the Body Mass Index, Sit and Reach, Hand Grip Strength,60 Second Chair Stand and 3-Minute Step Up and Down. The data were analyzed using an independent t-test, One-Way ANOVA, One-Way ANCOVA and Multiple Regression Analysis, with a statistically significant level of 0.05. The results showed that gender affected exercise practices of university students, and with no impact on knowledge and attitudes, while age affected exercise practice by controlled gender. The predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors in the PRECEDE FRAMEWORK concept had a positive effect on exercise behavior by promoting the exercise behaviors of university students that have been continuously implemented and caused students to change their physical fitness and improve all aspects of its. In addition, exercise behavior of knowledge and attitudes to exercise had no effect on physical fitness, whlie exercise behavior of attitude and the factors of predisposting, enabling and reinforcing affected the practice behavior of male students.

Keywords:
Exercise behavior; Physical fitness; University students; Precede framework; Factor

RESUMO

Esta pesquisa usou um projeto de pesquisa causal para estudar a relação dos vários fatores e comportamentos de exercício que afetam a aptidão física de estudantes universitários com base no QUADRO PRECEDE. Os objetivos incluíam o seguinte: (1) comparar os fatores pessoais que influenciam o comportamento de exercício; (2) estudar a relação entre os fatores predisponentes, habilitadores e reforçadores; e comportamentos de exercício; e (3) comparar o nível de comportamento do exercício que afeta a aptidão física. O grupo de amostra foi amostragem aleatória simples. Esta pesquisa consistiu na aplicação de questionário e teste de aptidão física de cinco itens sobre Índice de Massa Corporal, Sentar e Alcançar, Força de preensão manual, 60 segundos de pé na cadeira e 3 minutos de subida e descida. Os dados foram analisados por meio de um teste t independente, One-Way ANOVA, One-Way ANCOVA e Multiple Regression Analysis, com um nível estatisticamente significativo de 0,05. Os resultados mostraram que o gênero afetou a prática de exercícios de estudantes universitários, sem impacto no conhecimento e nas atitudes, enquanto a idade afetou a prática de exercícios por gênero controlado. Os fatores predisponentes, capacitadores e reforçadores do conceito PRECEDE FRAMEWORK tiveram um efeito positivo no comportamento de exercícios, promovendo os comportamentos de exercícios de estudantes universitários que têm sido implementados continuamente e fizeram com que os alunos mudassem sua aptidão física e melhorassem todos os seus aspectos. Além disso, o comportamento de exercício de conhecimento e atitudes ao exercício não teve efeito sobre a aptidão física, enquanto o comportamento de exercício de atitude e os fatores de predisposição, habilitação e reforço afetaram o comportamento de prática dos alunos do sexo masculino.

Palavras-chave:
Comportamento de exercícios; Aptidão física; Estudantes universitários; Precede framework; Fator

Introduction

Health has an important place in the perception of life quality and that health-related quality of life encompasses factors of mental, physical, and social well-being11 Kuna-apisit W. Teaching in physical education. Bangkok: Wittayapat; 1996.),(22 Cihan, BB, BozdaĞ B, Var L. Examination of physical activity and life quality levels of university students in terms of related factors. J Educ Learn 2019;8(1)20:120-130. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v8n1p120
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. The satisfaction of leisure activities in social life, psychological status, functional ability, the emotional and spiritual, gender well-being along with the satisfaction in relationships with family and friends plays a large role in determining the health quality of life in individuals33 Anokye NK, Trueman P, Green C, Pavey TG, Taylor RS. Physical activity and health related quality of life. BMC Public Health 2012;2(1):624-631. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-624
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),(44 Tessier S, Vuillemin A, Bertrais S, Boini S, Bihan EL, Oppert JM, et al. Association between leisure-time physical activity and health-related quality of life changes over time. Prev Med 2009;44(3):202-208. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2006.11.012
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. At any age, physical activity is valuable to health with increasing in healthy growth throughout life55 Edwards DJ, Edwards DS, Basson CJ. Psychological well-being and physical self-esteem in sport and exercise. Int J Ment Health Promot 2004;6(1):25-32. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14623730.2004.9721921
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. The research indicates the physical activity being mainly related to life quality, along with all the other variables. At this point, it is possible to add the life skills of teenager by guiding the interest and curiosity to sports activities. Regular physical activity encourages quality of life by reinforcement the psychological healthiness and physical functioning55 Edwards DJ, Edwards DS, Basson CJ. Psychological well-being and physical self-esteem in sport and exercise. Int J Ment Health Promot 2004;6(1):25-32. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14623730.2004.9721921
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),(66 Ali SKS. The important of physical activities in our life. Int Phys Med Rehab J 2018;3(4):308‒310. Doi: https://doi.org/10.15406/ipmrj.2018.03.00121
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),(77 Bauman A, Bull F, Chey T, Craig CL, Ainsworth BE, Sallis JF, et al. The International Prevalence Study on Physical Activity: results from 20 countries. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2009;6:21. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-6-21
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. Moreover, researchers indicated the health risks increased during adolescence and continued into adulthood88 Gardner M, Steinberg L. Peer influence on risk taking, risk preference, and risky decision making in adolescence and adulthood: An experimental study. Devel Psychol 2005;41(4):625- 635. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.4.625
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),(99 Markland D, Tobin V. A modification to the behavioural regulation in exercise questionnaire to include an assessment of amotivation. J Sport Exerc Psychol 2004;26(2):191-196. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.26.2.191
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. Therefore, in teenager period, it is significantly dangerous for obesity development, making early interventions critical in preventing chronic diseases. Therefore, in between 18-24 years old, a large portion of adult population are enrolled in university with growing the numbers. Due to this rising enrollments, the number of unhealthy behaviors are notable. Therefore, several studies showed the courses related to health-related fitness knowledge, and the skills to help students adopt healthy lifestyles1010 Corbin CB, Cardinal BJ. Conceptual physical education: The anatomy of an innovation. Quest 2000;60:467-487. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2008.10483593
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),(1111 Sparling PB, Snow TK. Physical activity patterns in recent college alumni. Res Q Exercise Sport 2002;73(2):200-205. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2002.10609009
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.

College students today face various stressors in their daily lives, which could potentially impact their overall health1212 Holinka C. Stress, emotional intelligence, and life satisfaction in college students. College Student Journal 2015[cited on 4 Oct 2020];49(2):300-311. Available from: Available from: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/prin/csj/2015/00000049/00000002/art00015
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),(1313 Pascoe MC, Hetrick SE, Parker AG. The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education. Int J Adolesc Youth 2020;25(1);104-112. Doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823
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. The decline in physical activity was evident during young adults' transition from young adulthood to early adulthood, with the steepest decline occurring after university entrance1414 Kwan MY, Cairney J, Faulkner GE, Pullenavegum EE. Physical activity and other health-risk behaviours during the transition into adulthood: a longitudinal cohort Am J Prev Med 2012;42(1):14-20. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2011.08.026
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),(1515 Sigmundova D, Chmelik F, Sigmund E, Feltlova D, Fromel K. Physical activity in the lifestyle of Czech university students: Meeting health recommendations. Eur J Sport Sci 2013;13(6):744-750. Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F17461391.2013.776638
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),(1616 Fagarasa SP, Radub LE, Vanvu G. The level of physical activity of university students. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 2015;197:1454 -1457. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.094
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. It has been reported that in a survey that college students reported symptoms of depression were felt by over half of the group1717 Edman JL, Lynch WC, Yates A. The impact of exercise performance dissatisfaction and physical exercise on symptoms of depression among college students: A gender comparison. J Psychol 2014;148(1):23-35. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2012.737871
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. In addition, the female students were less active and exercised less than males1818 Chachvarat T, Phawong V, Nunta S. Teenagers health behaviors. Nurs Public Health Edu J 2018 [cited on 15 Oct 2020];19(3):107-120.Available from: Available from: https://he01.tcithaijo.org/index.php/bcnpy/article/view/148767/117533
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. The fact that students do not recognize the importance of exercise, consistent with the research of Aungkana Boonsem, who claimed that university students in Thailand had exercise behavior phases, according to the theory of behavioral change procedures in step two or contemplation, including awareness of the problem and considered modifying health behavior according to the Stage of Change theory, without motivation and correct exercise behavior1919 Boonsem A, Malarat A. Factors affecting the behavior and stages of readiness to change exercise behaviour among university students. Int J High Edu 2018;7(6):191-197. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v7n6p191
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),(2020 Prochaska JO, Velicer WF. The transtheoretical model of health behavior change. Am J Health Promot 1997;12(1):38-48. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-12.1.38
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. With regard to emotional behavior, it was found that when adolescents change from children to adolescents, it may lead to anxiety and emotional stress that affects the behavior of teenagers and their physical and mental health. Therefore, exercise behavior is another important health problem for university students. The study showed that exercise is an integral part of healthy behavior, but there are still other factors that are important variables for behavior based on the concepts of Green and colleagues2121 Green L, Kreuter M. Health program planning: An educational and ecological approach. 4th Edition, New York: McGraw Hill; 2005.. They proposed the Precede framework about the process leading to the predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors used in the evaluation of behavioral health. In addition, personal factors are still an important aspect and these factors were the basis for directly promoting exercise behavior. Therefore, studying the factors impacted the exercise behaviors and the relations between exercise behavior and the physical fitness of university students are also important. In addition, there has never been a study of university students to promote the identification of factors affecting exercise behaviors and contributing to be adjustment plan for the purpose of good health and physical fitness in society.

For the reasons mentioned above, the purpose of this study is to determine the physical activity level and life quality of university students in terms of social, psychological, environmental and health fields. In addition, the relations of various factors on exercise behaviors affecting the physical fitness were studied.

Research objectives

  1. To compare personal factors that influenced the exercise behavior of university students.

  2. To study the relationship between the predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors and the exercise behaviors of university students.

  3. To compare the level of exercise behavior affecting the physical fitness university students.

Figure 1
Research framework

Methods

This research has been reviewed and has been approved for research ethics in compliance with the rules and standards of the Faculty of Liberal Arts Ethics Committee of King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. This research is quantitative research design in causal research design. This is a study of the relationships between various factors and exercise behaviors affecting the physical fitness of students, based on the Precede Framework2121 Green L, Kreuter M. Health program planning: An educational and ecological approach. 4th Edition, New York: McGraw Hill; 2005..

Sample

The sample of this research is calculated by using Taro Yamane2222 Yamane T. Statistics: An introductory analysis. 3rd Ed. New York: Harper and Row Publications;1973.. After calculated the sample size by substituting the numbers into the Yamane formula, with a sample of 370 students. In order to obtain reliable data, the researcher increased the sample size to 400 students out of 5,514 students in the Faculty of Engineering at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi with simple random sampling. All of the heathy students who met the inclusion criteria and voluntarily agreed to participate in the study were recruited. However, 30 students refuse to participate in term of non-participating throughout the program.

Variables studied

  1. Independent variables: gender and age;

  2. Transmission variables: exercise behavior (knowledge, attitudes and practices) and the exercise factors: predisposing factors (knowledge, beliefs and values of exercise), enabling factors (educational support and fitness facilities) and reinforcing factors (environment, family and friends in terms of exercising);

  3. Dependent variables: Physical fitness (body mass index, sit and reach, hand grip strength, 60 second chair stand and three-minute step up and down).

Research tools

The tools used in this research consists of two sections. The first survey measured the exercise behaviors and factors related to quality of life, and the second looked at levels of physical fitness among students in the Faculty of Engineering at King Mongkut's University of Technology, Thonburi, Thailand.

Section 1: A questionnaire2323 Boonrin P, Choeychom S, Nantsupawat W. Predictive factors of exercise behaviors of nursing students. J Nurs Health Care 2015[cited on 15 Oct 2020];33(2):176-186. Available from:Available from:https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jnat-ned/article/view/39515/32672
https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jn...
on exercise behaviors and factors were determined and reviewed by five experts of behavioral science and sports science in terms of accuracy, suitability, usefulness and possibility. The questionnaire format consisted of the following aspects.

Part 1: General information of students : gender and age.

Part 2: Student’s exercise behaviors :

  1. Knowledge: A scale was used in the questionnaire to specify the level of the knowledge based on the following criteria; high (66.68-100%), medium (33.34-66.67%), and low (0-33.33%).

  2. Attitudes: A scale was used in the questionnaire to specify the level of the agreement or disagreement based on the following criteria; very high agreement (3.51-4.00), high agreement (2.51-3.50), moderate agreement (1.51-2.50) and low agreement (1.00-1.50).

  3. Exercise practice: A scale was used in the questionnaire to specify the level of the exercise frequency based on the following criteria; very high frequency (3.51-4.00), high frequency (2.51-3.50), moderate frequency (1.51-2.50) and low frequency (1.00-1.50).

Part 3: Exercise factors on the predisposing factors (knowledge, beliefs, and the values of exercise), and the enabling factor (educational support and fitness facilities) and the reinforcing factor (environment, family and friends in terms of exercising). Such scale was used in the questionnaire to specify the level of the agreement or disagreement based on the following criteria; very high agreement (3.51-4.00), high agreement (2.51-3.50), moderate agreement (1.51-2.50) and low agreement (1.00-1.50).

Section 2: The tools used in measuring physical fitness and based on the Standards of Physical Fitness for the People, as used by the Bureau of Sports Science, the Department of Physical Education and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, 2019,and consisting of the following five items2424 Ministry of Tourism and sports [internet]. Test and benchmark for physical fitness of people aged 19 - 59 years. Bangkok: Bureau of Sports science; 2019. [cited on 15 Oct 2020] Available from: Available from: https://www.dpe.go.th/manual-preview-411291791796
https://www.dpe.go.th/manual-preview-411...
:

  1. Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to evaluate body proportion by using body weight and height measurements.

  2. Sit and Reach is used to assess weakness in the lower back and rear thighs by bending the knees and body to extend arms forward as far as possible and record the distance.

  3. Hand grip strength is used to evaluate the muscle strength and lower arms by the hand grip dynamometer and recording the force in kilograms.

  4. 60 second chair stand is used to evaluate the strength and endurance of the leg muscles by participants stand up repeatedly from a chair for 60 seconds.

  5. Three-minute step up and down is used to assess the endurance of the heart and circulatory system by step up and down on a twelve inch step in three minutes.

Data analysis

The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed and divided into:

  1. The data concerning the general background of the subjects were calculated and presented in terms of frequency distribution (n), percentage (%), mean (x) and standard deviation (SD).

  2. The statistical methods were used in the study of factors affected exercise behavior that influenced the performance of the body (physical fitness) as an independent t-test, One-Way ANOVA, One-Way ANCOVA and Multiple Regression Analysis. The statistical significance was at a level of p< 0.05.

Results

1. General information

A total of 370 participants consisted of 265 males (71.6%) and 105 females (28.4%). The mean and standard deviation of age were 19.81+0.76 and 20.12+0.9 for males and females, respectively.

2. Comparison of personal factors affecting exercise behaviors

The behavioral level of exercise in terms of knowledge, attitudes and exercise practice are shown at the degree of a high level of knowledge, a very high agreement of attitude and high frequency in exercise practice as shown in Table 1. The data were analyzed in terms of gender affecting the exercise behaviors of university students, with a statistical significance at a level of .05, based on an independent t-test in exercise practices with no effect on exercise behavior in terms of knowledge and attitudes. In addition, male and female students had different levels of knowledge, attitudes to exercise and actual exercise practices.

Table 1
Gender affecting the exercise behaviors of students

The one-way ANOVA analysis showed that age had effects on the physical exercise behavior of university students, as shown in Table 2, with a statistical significance of .05. In addition, when analyzing data to compare relationships of exercise behavior with age when controlled by gender, Practice using Multiple Comparison. The results found that students with 25 years old having the practice behavior significantly decreased compared to 19,20,21 and 22 years old at a level of .05

Table 2
Age affecting the exercise behavior of students

3. Correlation between the predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors to exercise behavior

The correlation between predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors to exercise behavior using Pearson’s correlation is presented in Table 3. The analysis showed that all of predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors had a positive correlation with exercise behavior. Therefore, the increase in the level of predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors increased the level of exercise behavior among university students in terms of knowledge, attitude and exercise practices, and with a statistical significance of .05.

Table 3
Correlation between predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors to exercise behaviors

4. Comparison of exercise behavior affecting physical fitness

The analysis of covariance was computed and the result is presented in Table 4. A comparison of the level of exercise behavior in knowleadge and attitude affected the physical fitness of the students indicated exercise behavior in terms of knowledge and attitudes to exercise had no effect on physical fitness and measured by both body mass index, sit and reach, hand grip strength, a 60 second chair stand, three-minute step up and down, with a statistical significance of .05.

Table 4
Comparison between exercise behaivors on physical fitness

When analyzine data to compare relationships of exercise behaviors in practice affecting physical fitness when controlled with gender. The result found that exercise practice affected the sit and reach, hand grip strength, 60 second chair stand and the three-minute step up and down, and with a statistical significance of .05 as shown in Table 5.

Table 5
Comparison of exercise behaviors in practice affecting physical fitness when controlled with gender

When analyzing data of multiple regression analysis on practice behavior of male students. The results found that exercise behaviors of attitude and the factors of predisposting, enabling and reinforcing affected the practice behavior of university students, and with a statistical significance of .05, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6
Result of multiple regression analysis on practice behavior of students

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between exercise and behavioral regulations in terms of physical fitness in a sample of college-aged individuals. In addition, the comparison of personal factors affecting student exercise behavior, including the relationships studied between the predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors with the exercise behaviors of students were determined. The results showed that gender influenced exercise behavior of university students in exercise practice, without any effect on the knowledge and attitudes, because university students of all genders had similar knowledge and attitudes. Male students effectively demonstrated exercise practices at higher levels than female students, in relation to exercise frequency and the physical differences. The structural features of muscle, skeletal and body system, including the performance of all systems of the body were different in nature2525 Tsai LT, Lo FE, Yang CC, Keller JJ, Lyu SY. Gender differences in recreational sports participation among Taiwanese adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2015;12(1):829-40. Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fijerph120100829
https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fijerph12010082...
. The personal factors, such as age, had effects on exercise behaviors in practice when controlled by gender. They researched the information and perceived benefits of exercise as well as other activities, causing irregular exercise routines. In addition, older people performed more physical activities and exercise when they are urged to campaign and encourage regular physical activity2626 Cunningham GO, Michael YL. Concepts guiding the study of the impact of the built environment on physical activity for older adults: A review of the literature. Am J Health Promot2004;18:435-443. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-18.6.435
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. A relationship based on the concept of Precede Framework with behavioral exercises showed that the predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors were positively correlated with exercise behavior by the predisposing factors of knowledge, beliefs and values depending on the benefits of received or the results of actions or beliefs. The enabling factors in educational support, fitness facilities and the reinforcing factors in the environment, such as family and friends have a direct effect on exercise behavior and provided students with higher levels of exercise behaviors2727 Kholifah SN, Yumni H, Minarti, Susanto T. Structural model of factors relating to the health promotion behavior of reproductive health among Indonesian adolescents. Int J Nurs Sci 2017;4(4):367-373. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2017.10.001
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),(2828 Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C, Ntoumanis N. The role of self-determined motivation in the understanding of exercise-related behaviours, cognitions and physical self-evaluations. J Sports Sci 2006;24(4): 393-404. . In terms of the relationship between exercise behaviors and physical fitness, a high level of exercise behavior in terms of knowledge and attitudes of the students had no effect on physical fitness in the body mass index, sit and reach, hand grip strength, 60 second chair stand and the three-minute step up and down. Moreover, because of gender affecting in exercise practice, the data were analyzed in multiple regression analysis on practice behavior of male students that exercise behaviors of attitude and the factors of predisposting, enabling and reinforcing affected the practice behavior of university students without age affecting. Therefore, it could be argued that gender can most accurately predict exercise behavior.

In addition, factors of diet, regular exercise and exercise activities had also effect on physical fitness. The exercise behavior of univesity students were stimulated and encouraged to develop strong muscles, flexibility, and endurance of the circulatory system to adjust the exercise behavior of university students with the aim of developing a healthy body2929 Sarkin JA, Johnson SS, Prochaska JO, Prochaska JM. Applying the Transtheoretical Model to regular moderate exercise in an overweight population: validation of a stages of change measure. Prev Med 2001;33:462-46. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/pmed.2001.0916
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),(3030 Dyrstad S, Soltvedt R, Hallen J. Physical fitness and physical training during Norwegian military service. Mil Med 2006;171,736-741. Doi: https://doi.org/10.7205/milmed.171.8.736
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. This was also in accordance with the research of Aungkana Boomsem, who claimed that a holistic health promotion program was effective for the development of the physical fitness of students, resulting in good physical fitness and with a longer duration of exercise3132 Boonsem A. Effect of enhancing holistic health promotion program affecting changes in physical fitness for university students. JMHS2020 [cited on 3 Nov 2020];27(1):47-58. Available from: Available from: https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jmhs/article/view/241805
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. Therefore, regular exercise practices lead to physical development in university students. For BMI, the fat reducing affecting body mass index3233 Wu T, Gao X, Chen. M, Dam RM. Longterm effectiveness of diet plus exercise intervention vs. diet only intervention for weight loss: A metaanalysis. Obes Rev 2009;10:313-323. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789x.2008.00547.x
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after exercise routines and regarding consumption behavior, a balanced diet, controlled portions and the amount of food is also an important factor in determining BMI3334 Flórez KR, Richardson AS, Ghosh-Dastidar MB, Troxel W, DeSantis A, Colabianchi N, et al. The power of social networks and social support in promotion of physical activity and body mass index among African American adults. SSM Popul Health 2018;4:327-333. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2018.03.004
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),(3435 Huang JH, Huang SL, Li RH, Wang LH, Chen YL, Tang FC. Effects of nutrition and exercise health behaviors on predicted risk of cardiovascular disease among workers with different body mass index levels. Int J Environ Res Public Health2014;11:4664-4675. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110504664
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. In addition, the flexibility, strength and endurance of the leg muscles in sit and reach need to develop physically continuous support of a body motion on a continuous basis and causing physiological adaptations tends to increase muscle strength3536 Malina RM, Bouchard C, Bar-Or O. Growth, maturation, and physical activity. 2nd. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers; 2004.) and results in smoother movements3637 Clark ME, Tobias JH, Murray L, Boreham C. Children with low muscle strength are at an increased risk of fracture with exposure to exercise. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact 2011;11(2):196-202. PMID: 21625056),(3738 Steene-Johannessen J, Anderssen SA, Kolle E, Andersen LB. Low muscle fitness is associated with metabolic risk in youth. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009;41(7):1361-1367. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e31819aaae5
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. For increasing in hand grip strength, the training requires to increase the strength and endurance of arm muscles, but the development in machine exercise focused on gross motor skills and the improvement of arm muscle abilities3839 Faigenbaum AD, Kraemer WJ, Blimkie CJ, Jeffreys I, Micheli LJ, Nitka M, et al. Youth resistance training: Updated position statement paper from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. J Strength Cond Res 2009;23(5 Suppl):S60-S79. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e31819df407
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.

Therefore, the data indicated that exercise behaviors were related to physical fitness, such as gender and age, as well as the ability to manage the environment, mental states, perception and influence in determining the abilities of the individuals. The habit of exercise routines in behavioral practice increase the knowledge and attitude of fitness being the importance of practicing on a daily basis3940 Gillison F, Standage M, Skevington SM. Relationships among adolescents’weight perceptions, exercise goals, exercise motivation, quality of life, and leisure-time exercise behaviour: a self-determination theory approach. Health Education Researc 2006;21:836-847. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyl139
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),(4041 American College of Sports Medicine, Chodzko ZWJ, Proctor ND, Singh MAF, Minson CT, Nigg CR, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and physical activity for older adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009;41(7):1510-1530. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3181a0c95c
https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3181a0...
. The concept of Precede Framework was coupled with exercise behaviors in the development of the students physical fitness is important because adolescent university students have decreased their exercise behavior. According to the pattern of physical activity, in all countries, there are a very low percentage of students that perform vigorous exercise regularly. The continuous environmental adjustments promotes the appropriate exercise habits resulting in higher levels of physical fitness among students. However, there are other important factors, such as behavior patterns in food consumption, exercise frequency, etc.

The studying of factors impact on the exercise behaviors and the relationships between exercise behavior and the physical fitness of university students are important. There has never been a study of university students to promote the identification of factors affecting exercise behaviors and contributing to be adjustment plan for the purpose of good health and physical fitness in society. Therefore, the data revealed the relations between the behaviors of university students that influence their physical fitness at university that can be used to adjust the behavior of physical activity and promote healthier students.

Conclusion

The gender affected the exercise behavior of university students with no influence in terms of age. Moreover, the predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors in the Precede Framework concept had a positive relationship with the exercise behaviors of university students by promoting exercise, which has been continuously implemented and helped university students to improve all aspects of physical fitness.

Acknowledgments:

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    31 Jan 2022
  • Date of issue
    2021

History

  • Received
    02 Jan 2021
  • Reviewed
    05 May 2021
  • Accepted
    17 June 2021
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