The study aims to examine the mediation effects of physical literacy and physical activity behavior in a relationship between psychological distress and life satisfaction among Chinese college students during the real-life Coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) circumstance. This study implemented a cross-sectional design, and 1,516 participants from 12 universities participated in this study. Structural equation modeling was used to examine a hypothesized model. The findings indicated an acceptable model fit ( X2[61] = 508.2, Comparative Fit Index [CFI] = 0.958, Tucker Lewis Index [TLI] = 0.946, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA] = 0.076, 90% CI [0.070, 0.082], Standardized Root Mean Square Residual [SRMR] = 0.047). The results indicated that college students with low participation in physical activity could experience less than healthy living conditions. The findings offered empirical support to the theory that physical literacy could advance individuals’ healthy living by promoting physical activity participation. The study suggested that educational institutions and physical activity programs should cultivate individuals’ physical literacy in order to promote lifelong healthy living.

IntroductionPhysical fitness is a health indicator contributing to the prevention of non-communicable diseases that threaten public health. Studies across a number of global populations indicate that physical fitness is generally declining. This study investigated the trend in physical fitness of Chinese male first-year college students from 2013 to 2019 to offer critical information for fostering individual and public health.MethodsThis study used archival data and a natural experiment design capturing 4 years of data prior to implementation of the Healthy China 2030 initiative and 3 years following. Physical fitness tests were based on the Chinese national student physical fitness standards for males including body mass index, vital capacity, standing-long-jump, sit-and-reach, pull-ups, 50 m sprint, and 1,000 m run. Because the physical fitness tests set different standards for males and females, female data will be reported separately. Data from a total of 3,185 Chinese male first-year college students from a private university in Hebei Province of China were included in the study. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance was used for analyzing the research data.ResultsThe results indicated an overall significant difference in health-related physical fitness of Chinese male first-year college students, with scores on health indicators generally declining from 2013 to 2019. Despite improvement on some fitness variables in some years, performance on virtually all indicators was diminished compared to baseline years.DiscussionThese findings can contribute to the existing global literature in the field of public health showing general declines in physical fitness. Chinese universities have the opportunity to support Healthy China 2030 goals and cultivate individuals' physical fitness by offering physical education course that encourage college students to participate in moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activities in order to support physical fitness development.

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