The Relationship between Physical Fitness and Perceived Well-Being, Motivation, and Enjoyment in Chinese Adolescents during Physical Education: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between physical fitness (PF) level and Chinese middle-school students’ perceived well-being, motivation, and enjoyment. Method: In this study, the participants were randomly selected from 16 Beijing-based middle schools in China. In addition to the collection of demographic data (i.e., gender, age, and parental education), tools including the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, the Behavioural Regulation in Sport Questionnaire, and the Physical Activity Children’s Enjoyment Scale were employed for collecting data on other variables of well-being, motivation, and enjoyment, respectively. Results: A total of 1678 adolescents (M age = 14.66 years, SD = 1.80) participated in this study. According to the results, significant gender differences could be observed in the PF categories of mean age, BMI, vital capacity, 50-m sprint, muscular strength, and flexibility (all p < 0.05). In contrast, there was no significant gender difference in the levels of well-being, motivation, and enjoyment observed, with similar scores for boys and girls (p > 0.05). Indeed, adolescents with low BMI scores and high levels of vital capacity, muscular strength, and flexibility showed better well-being, motivation, and enjoyment. However, no association was observed between timed sit-ups and pull-ups and well-being, motivation, and enjoyment. Conclusions: This study produced preliminary findings on the relationship between PF and Chinese adolescents’ perceived well-being, motivation, and enjoyment. To improve the health of adolescents, it is necessary to adopt prospective and experimental research designs for advocating for fitness education in school-based programs in future research.

Feasibility and Reliability of Health-Related Physical Fitness Tests in Children and Adolescents with Hearing Impairment

“…The decision was made on the basis of the local context, the characteristics of Chinese children and adolescents with HI, and the inputs from a panel of experts. Furthermore, several studies showed that the long distance run and vital capacity showed good feasibility and reliability for Chinese children and adolescents without disabilities [39,40] and these are parallel to our results (feasibility = 92.3-100%, ICC = 0.85-0.91). As such, researchers and practitioners using HRPF tests for children and adolescents with HI should feel confident in adopting these measures.…”

The effects of adapted physical education sessions on the empathy of female students with overweight

“…To get information regarding the PA improvements, the participants completed, before and after the intervention, tests that have been frequently used in similar studies. Each test assesses different components of physical fitness ( Stodden et al, 2015 ; Tabacchi et al, 2016 ; Di Maglie et al, 2022 ; Yip et al, 2022 ): the standing long jump test ( Davies, 1990 ), Push-ups ( Yip et al, 2022 ); Sit-ups ( Zheng et al, 2023 ), and Vameval test ( Cazorla and Léger, 1993 ).…”

The impact of adapted exercises in basketball on the perception of the difficulty and physical enjoyment of students with overweight

“…Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using the following formula: Body mass/Height 2 (kg/m 2 ). Participants were classified as overweight or obese according to the threshold definition (cut-offs) proposed by the International Obesity Task Force [ 30 ]. The study received the agreement of the management of the high schools, and the endorsement of the teachers and students concerned.…”

“…Some studies showed that intrinsic motivation, satisfaction, and physical enjoyment improved physical performance [ 30 , 31 ]. Physical enjoyment can also be described as an affective and emotional reaction to a physical education session that could generate a certain satisfaction, pleasure self-confidence, and more satisfactory emotion management during physical education and sport, in children and adolescents with and without disability [ [25] , [32] , [33] , [34] ].…”