Physical activity levels and perceived benefits and barriers to physical activity among honors students

• Main Author: Kain, Lorie L.
• Other Authors: Ball State University. Dept. of Physiology and Health Science.
• Format: Others
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: College students.; Exercise > Psychological aspects.; Health behavior.
• Online Access: http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/handle/185959; http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1061876

The problem_ of the study was to compare honors college students with non-honors students on physical activity levels, perceived benefits of physical activity, and perceived barriers to physical activity. Two measures were selected to test the hypotheses and were combined into one questionnaire. A purposive sample of 500 students from Honors College classes and Health Science classes were given the questionnaire to complete during class. Multiple Analysis of variance (MANOVA), univariate f-tests following significant MANOVA's, and a t-test analysis were used to test the hypotheses.Results of this study indicated that honors students and non-honors students perform similar amounts of physical activity. Time is a more important perceived barrier to physical activity for honors students than for non-honors students. No significant differences exist for honors students and non-honors students regarding perceived benefits. It is suggested that additional research involving physical activity and time factors be conducted on college students enrolled in both honors programs and non-honors programs. === Department of Physiology and Health Science