Investigation of the Reasons Motivating Undergraduate Students to Physical Activity According to Behavior Change Stages

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the reasons that motivate undergraduate students to physical activity according to the stages of behavior change. Method: A total of 598 students, including 328 male and 270 female students, voluntarily participated in the research conducted with the screening model. Independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance and LSD tests were used for statistical operations. Results: The difference between interest and physical fitness dimension scores between male and female students was statistically significant (p<.05). In the dimension of interest and physical fitness, female's scores are higher than male's. In the study, statistically significant differences were found in interest, ability, appearance, physical fitness and social dimensions according to age category (p<.05). Statistically significant differences were found in all sub-dimensions when comparing the sub-dimensions of the reasons that motivate to participate in physical/sports activity according to the behavioral change steps (p<.01). Conclusion: It has been determined that while the factors that motivate undergraduate students to physical activity are different in terms of interest and physical fitness, they are similar in terms of ability, appearance and social dimension. It has been observed that physically active people are better in interest, physical fitness, ability, appearance and social dimensions than those who are not physically active. It is recommended to direct undergraduate students to be more physically active.