August 2022
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198 Reads
Background: The decline in the physical fitness of college students has become a serious social problem worldwide. Therefore, exploring exercise behavior of college students is of great significance in improving college students' physical and mental health. The purpose of this study was to assess exercise behavior among a sample from medical students in Minia University and to assess the effect of trans-theoretical model (TTM) intervention based program on stages of change of exercise behavior among students. Subjects and Methods: An interventional study included 280 undergraduate medical students was carried out during the period from December 2019 to March 2020. Data were gathered with a self-administered Arabic questionnaire encompassing questions on sociodemographics, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form (IPAQ), stage of change for exercise behavior, exercise self-efficacy and decisional balance scores. Students with low level of physical activity and in the pre-action stages for change received health education intervention based on their stages. Intervention evaluation was done through self-reported questionnaires assessing TTM stage of change. Results: findings revealed that 42.5% were male and 46.8% of students had low physical activity level. 14.6% of students were in the precontemplation stage of change for physical activity, 28.9% were in the contemplation stage and the majority of students were in the preparation stage (42.5%). After the intervention sessions; 55.6% of participants progressed from lower to higher stages of behavior change. Conclusion and recommendation: The TTM-based physical activity intervention program was effective in inducing a positive movement in the stages of behavior change among students.
