Effects of CPE on Changing Freshmen Self-Reported Physical Activity

Background/Purpose: It is well documented that regular engagement in physical activity (PA) can provide holistic health benefits. The college years are highly influential in shaping adult lifestyles involving PA. Unfortunately, many universities do not have required physical education, exposing students to the risk of developing a sedentary lifestyle. Research has shown decreases in PA and increases in weight among students during the first year in college. There is a need to implement curriculum-based interventions to reverse the aforementioned trend. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the changes of PA in freshmen resulting from a conceptual physical education (CPE) course. 

Method: A quasi-experimental research design was employed. In total, 83 college students from a CPE class and two non-CPE classes were recruited in this study. The experimental group (n= 42) consisted of freshmen enrolling in a 3-credit CPE course. Students (n =39) in two non-CPE freshmen courses were served as the control group. A pre-validated weekly leisure-time exercise questionnaire was used to collect self-reported PA data in the first and last week of a fall semester. Three MET variables for vigorous (VPA), moderate (MPA), and light PA (LPA) were used to measure PA. 

Analysis/Results: MANOVA was used to test the differences of PA changes between the experimental and control groups. A significant main effect of CPE was found (Wilk’s Lambda = .84, F_{(3, 76)} = 4.87, p= .004). The experimental group had significantly larger increases in VPA than the control group with a medium effect size. Changes in MPA and LPA, however, did not differ significantly between the two groups.

Conclusions: The data from the study suggested that students in the CPE class were more likely to increase their VPA, which usually cannot be obtained by simply performing daily routine activities. Further studies are needed to investigate the retention of the gained increase of VPA.