Level of enjoyment during physical activity among children

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) brings a lot of benefits to children physically, cognitively and emotionally. Through PA, children will be healthier and children’s physical performance will also improve from time to time. In addition, children’s emotional management, academic performance and social skills will become better. Fun is needed to motivate children to keep involve in PA actively. Therefore, factors that influence level of fun during PA should be determined for further action. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine children’s level of fun and socio-demographic factors that influence children’s level of fun during PA. Methods: This quantitative study involved 167 students aged 10–12 years from five SRJK(C) schools in zon Simpang, Perak. The questionnaire used was adapted from Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). Results: The findings show that children’s level of fun during PA is low. The findings also indicate that there is a significant difference in children’s gender (t (165) = −2.16, p = 0.033), age (F (2, 164) = 9.18, p < 0.001) and body mass index (F (2, 164) = 7.06, p = 0.001) on children’s level of fun during PA. Conclusion: The study found that children that have higher levels of enjoyment during physical activity have lower body mass index. This shows that children’s level of fun plays an important role to motivate and encourage involvement of them in PA actively.