engleski

Relationships between physical activity level and satisfaction with physical appearance, perceived health and affective well-being

Background: The study examined the relationships between physical activity level and satisfaction with physical appearance, perceived health and affective well-being. Data were collected from the research project on well-being in Croatia (CRO-WELL project). Methods: The sample, N=2460, consisted of adult Internet users who completed an on-line survey. Participants rated their satisfaction with physical appearance and their health status. Well-being was assessed by The Scale of positive and negative experience and participants reported how much they experienced positive (6 items) and negative feelings (6 items) over the last month. Two physical activities frequency measure were used, i.e. how many days in a week participants were engaged in a vigorous physical activity such as fitness and sport, as well as in moderate physical activity such as walking and gardening. Personality, demographic variables, and objective measures of health were reported and controlled in analyses. Findings: The results of regression analyses showed that satisfaction with physical appearance was predicted positively by both measures of physical activities. Satisfaction with health was only predicted positively by engagement in a vigorous physical activity. Concerning the affective well- being, only moderate physical activity had predictive role in experiencing positive feelings over the last month. Neither measure of physical activities had predictive value for experiencing negative feelings over the last month. Discussion: The findings of the study highlight the differential role of vigorous and moderate level of physical activities in person’s life and helps in an understanding of their relationships with different measures of well-being, perceived physical appearance and health.

health, well-being, physical appearance, life satisfaction, activity

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