Abstract
The authors sought to determine whether a greater academic incentive would improve the effectiveness and student adherence to a 12-week voluntary exercise program designed to decrease students' percentage of body fat. They randomly assigned 210 students to 1 of 2 groups with different academic reward structures. The group with the greater reward structure showed better exercise adherence and lost more body fat than those without the additional incentive. These findings suggest that an academic incentive can increase overall student adherence to a voluntary exercise program and can boost the effectiveness of the program in a university environment. The findings also have potential implications for on-campus promotion of physical activity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 295-298 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of American College Health |
Volume | 53 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2005 |
Keywords
- Behavior modification
- College students
- Exercise
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health