The Relationships between Physical Activity Levels, Enjoyment of Physical Activity, and Body Mass Index among Bruneian Secondary School Adolescents

The purpose of the study was to examine the
relationships between objectively measured physical activity levels
(PALs), enjoyment of physical activity (EPA), and body mass index
(BMI) among adolescents. A total of 188 12-14-year-old Bruneian
secondary school adolescents (88 boys and 100 girls) voluntarily took
part in this study. Subjects wore the RT3 accelerometer for seven
consecutive days in order to measure their PALs. Times of students’
engagement in total (TPA), light (LPA), moderate (MPV), and
vigorous PA (VPA) were obtained from the accelerometer. Their
BMIs were calculated from their body height and weight. Physical
Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) was administrated to obtain their
EPA levels. Four key enjoyment factors including fun factors,
positive perceptions, unexciting in doing activities, and negative
perceptions were identified. Subjects’ social economic status (SES)
was provided by school administration. Results show that all the
adolescents did not meet the recommended PA guidelines even
though boys were engaged in more MVPA than girls. No
relationships were found between BMI and all PALs in both boys and
girls. BMI was significantly related to the PACES scores (r = -.22, p
= 0.01), fun factors (r = -.20, p = 0.05) and positive perceptions (r =-
.21, p < 0.05). The PACES scores were significantly related to LPA
(r = .18, p = 0.01) but not related to MVPA (r = .04, p > 0.05). After
controlling for age and SES, BMI was only significantly related to
the PACES scores in girls (r = -.27, p < .01) but boys (r = -.06, p >
0.05). Fun factors were significantly related to LPA and MVPA (p <
.01) in girls while negative perceptions were significantly related to
LPA and MVPA (p < .01) in boys. This study provides evidence that
enjoyment may be a trigger of LPA but MVPA and may be
influenced by their BMI status particularly in girls. Based on these
findings, physical and health educators are suggested to not only
make PA more enjoyable, but also consider gender differences in
promoting adolescents' participation in MVPA

• David Xiaoqian Sun
• Khairunnisa Binti Haji Sibah
• Jr.
• Lejak Anak Ambol

• Accelerometer
• body mass index
• enjoyment of physical activity
• moderate to vigorous physical activity.

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