Effects of self-monitoring at the end of a physical education class on the decisional balance for exercise and the level of physical activity

Abstract

It has been reported that the decisional balance for exercise (pros minus cons for exercise) plays an important role in the adoption and maintenance of physical activity and exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of self−monitoring at the end of a physical education class (sports activity) on the decisional balance for exercise and the level of physical activity in daily life. The participants of this study comprised 869 male college freshmen from an institute of technology in the Kinki area of Japan. The intervention group (N = 398) performed self−monitoring after sports activities once a week, while the nonintervention group (N = 471) did not. The self−monitoring sheet was composed of self−evaluation items with regard to psychological, sociological, and physiological aspects during sports activities. The common program applicable to all classes was as follows (the numbers correspond to the sequence of activities in the program)−1: guidance, 2: lecture, 3−5: sports activity, 6: lecture, 7−9: sports activity, 10: lecture, 11−13: sports activity, and 14: summary of the class. Three lectures were about health and lifestyle. The intervention program induced nonsignificant improvement of the decisional balance for exercise, and a statistically significant increase of the pros for exercise. No effects were observed in the cons for exercise and the level of physical activity in daily life. The intervention effects in the present study concretely suggest the role of physical education classes (sports activities) as a health education program.