•  
  •  
 

Abstract

College is a crucial time for young adults to develop healthy lifestyle habits. Increased academic and social demands can cause students to decrease their physical activity levels and negatively impact their overall health. One-credit fitness courses offered by universities may combat sedentarism and improve mental health. PURPOSE: To investigate health-related fitness and psychosocial well-being measures in college aged students taking one-credit fitness courses. METHODS: Eight college-aged students (19.91 ± 1.92yrs) enrolled in a one-credit fitness course completed a total of two sessions, ten weeks apart. The tests were comprised of the same four health measures (body mass index, blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat percentage), four fitness measures (aerobic capacity, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility), and three psychosocial well-being measures (perceived stress, self-esteem, physical activity). Paired samples t-tests (α = 0.05) supplemented by Cohen’s d effect sizes were conducted to assess the impact of one-credit fitness courses on students’ health-related fitness and psychosocial well-being. RESULTS: Muscular endurance significantly increased, as students were able to complete an average of five additional push-ups (Pre: 15.25 ± 8.38 vs. Post: 20.63 ± 7.41reps, t(7) = -3.71, p=0.008, d = -0.73). In contrast, muscular strength significantly decreased (Pre: 63.88 ± 10.12 vs. Post: 59.94 ± 11.44 kg, t(7) = 2.48, p=0.042, d = 0.39). No significant differences were observed for the health-related fitness and psychosocial well-being measures (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: One-credit fitness courses can maintain a healthy level of stress and self-esteem and moderately improve muscular endurance in college students. Universities might consider the ability of one-credit fitness courses to maintain or improve students’ mental and physical health.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.