Persuading Students to Exercise: What Is the Best Way to Frame Messages for Normal-Weight Versus Overweight/Obese University Students?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the effect of gain-framed (GF) compared with loss-framed (LF) messages on exercise behaviors in normal weight and among overweight/class I obese. The authors also examined which groups would have significantly improved exercise behaviors over time. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-four undergraduates were randomized to the 4 groups by message type and weight category from September 2008 to December 2011. METHODS: After screening, students received messages and attended an exercise instruction session. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between GF or LF message groups among normal weight or overweight/obese on the primary outcomes at posttest. After receiving the GF messages, the overweight/obese group was the only group to have a significant increase on all 3 primary outcomes: fitness center attendance (p = .038), combined moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity (p = .005), and strength training (p = .037). CONCLUSIONS: The exercise behaviors of undergraduate students who are overweight or obese can benefit from GF messages.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 17 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.