Fitness promotion in college: the relationships among students' perceived physical literacy, knowledge, and physical fitness

Bin Long; Yang Liu; Senlin Chen; Yiwu Yang; Suna Tang; Jimei Yang; Yuhuai Wang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1305121

Fitness promotion in college: the relationships among students' perceived physical literacy, knowledge, and physical fitness

Front Psychol. 2024 Apr 25:15:1305121. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1305121. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Bin Long¹, Yang Liu², Senlin Chen³, Yiwu Yang², Suna Tang², Jimei Yang², Yuhuai Wang²

Affiliations

¹ School of Sports Training, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China.
² School of Physical Education, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China.
³ School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among perceived physical literacy (PPL), knowledge of physical activity and fitness (PAF knowledge), and physical fitness.

Methods: Undergraduates (N = 968, female = 414; M_age = 18.64) from a public university in central China completed a simplified Chinese version of the PPL instrument, an online test for PAF knowledge, and seven health-related physical fitness tests. The PPL includes three dimensions: (a) confidence and physical competence, (b) motivation, and (c) interaction with the environment. The fitness tests measured lung capacity, body mass index (BMI), and performances in 800 (female)/1000 (male) meters run, 50 meters dash (50 M), sit-up (female) / pull-up (male), standing long jump (SLJ), and sit-and-reach.

Results: PPL and its dimensions significantly predicted six fitness test performances both in male (β: -0.42 - 0.37; p < 0.01-0.05; R²: 0.01-0.13) and female (β: -0.59 - 0.49; p < 0.01-0.05; R²: 0.03-0.13) students. PAF knowledge (β: -0.17 - 0.18; p < 0.01-0.05; R²: 0.01-0.05) significantly predicted BMI (males) and performances in 50 M (females) and SLJ (females) tests.

Conclusion: To support college students' fitness development and maintenance, tailored physical activity and fitness promotion programs are needed to strengthen students' PPL and PAF knowledge.

Keywords: fitness assessment; fitness promotion; physical activity; physical literacy; undergraduate students.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (WUT: 2021IVA092).