مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد توانمندسازی محیط ورزش جوانان – الزویر 2017

Background: Evidence suggests involvement in youth sport does not guarantee daily guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are met, and participation may not mitigate the risks associated with physical inactivity. The need to promote higher habitual MVPA engagement among children active in the youth sport context has therefore been underlined. Framed by self-determination theory, the aim of the present study was to examine the implications of the motivational climate created in youth sport, for children’s daily engagement in MVPA and associated adiposity. Specifically, we sought to test a motivational sequence in which children’s perceptions of an empowering coach-created motivational climate were related to autonomous and controlled motivation, which in turn predicted sport-related enjoyment. Finally, enjoyment is assumed to predict accelerometer assessed daily MVPA and, following this, adiposity Method: Male and female youth sport participants aged 9-16 years (N = 112) completed multi-section questionnaires assessing their perceptions of the motivational climate created in youth sport (i.e., autonomy supportive, task involving, socially supportive), autonomous and controlled motivation, and sport-related enjoyment. Daily MVPA engagement was determined via 7 days of accelerometry. Percent body fat (BF%) was estimated using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Results: Path analysis revealed perceptions of an empowering motivational climate positively predicted players’ autonomous motivation, and in turn, sport-related enjoyment. Enjoyment was also significantly negatively related to players’ BF%, via a positive association with daily MVPA. Conclusion: Fostering more empowering youth sport environments may hold implications for the prevention of excess adiposity, through encouraging higher habitual MVPA engagement. Findings may inform the optimal design of youth sport settings for MVPA promotion, and contribute towards associated healthy weight maintenance among youth active in this context. Longitudinal and intervention studies are required to confirm these results.

Introduction

Evidence based guidelines indicate school-aged youth should engage in ≥ 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day.1-4 Several government reports have underlined youth sport as a context through which children and adolescents may achieve these recommendations, advocating involvement in sport to encourage youth to lead more physically active lifestyles.5, 6 Accordingly, the role of youth sport for preventing overweight and obesity among children and adolescents has also been argued5 . However, recent studies have revealed that, whilst sport involvement may indeed offer a number of children and adolescents the opportunity to engage in substantial amounts of MVPA, participation in youth sport does not necessarily guarantee daily MVPA recommendations are met.7-9 Moreover, research has demonstrated that 1 in 4 youth sport participants are overweight or obese, with 48% of obese youth report participation in sport.10-12 Such findings point to the need to promote MVPA engagement even in this group of children and adolescents (i.e., youth sport participants) whom are traditionally thought to be amongst the most healthy and active in the population. In order to advance engagement in MVPA among children and adolescents active in the youth sport setting, we must first identify factors within this context that are related to habitual MVPA participation (i.e., daily MVPA). Self-determination theory (SDT) 13 and achievement goal theory (AGT)14 are two contemporary theories of motivation successfully used to understand the correlates and determinants of behavioral outcomes (e.g., PA engagement) across diverse settings, including youth sport. Specifically, these theoretical frameworks have guided researchers in their attempts to understand the interaction between the PA environment and the motivational processes pertinent to PA engagement.