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Friday, February 19, 2010 (12:18:15) |
| Tags : Work out, Health, Research |
Focusing on fun can boost physical activity |
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| London: Highlighting emotional benefits of work out is a much better way of boosting physical activity than focusing on traditional health benefits, says a new study.
Researchers have said: "There is evidence that people who believe that physical activity is enjoyable and fun are more likely to engage in sports and work out."
"We investigated whether highlighting the emotional benefits of sport and work out to young people increased their levels of physical activity, more than highlighting the physical health benefits," they said.
Participants numbering 128 aged between 16 and 19 years took part in the study.
The teenagers all received a daily text message at 4 p.m. for a period of two weeks. Some received text messages that highlighted either the emotional benefits of work out - such as 'Physical activity can make you feel cheerful. What activity will you do today?'
A second group received texts that highlighted the physical benefits, such as - 'Physical activity can keep your heart healthy. What activity will you do today?' and a further group received text messages that were a combination of the two.
The participants recorded their levels of physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), which measured the time they spent on moderate and vigorous work out.
Analysis of the results found that the physical activity levels of all 128 participants increased after the two-week intervention by an average 31.5 minutes of moderate activity a week.
The largest increase in physical activity was seen for inactive teenagers who received the text messages that highlighted the emotional benefits of work out. This was equivalent to 120 more minutes of moderate work out.
The researchers said: "Statistics show that from the age of 16, girls' levels of physical activity begin to decrease."
"Our study shows that for inactive teenagers, emphasising the emotional benefits of work out may be a more effective way to encourage work out than highlighting traditional health benefits," said researchers. (IANS) |
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