Key result
Monthly fitness self-testing increases daily steps and active time vs control in male college students.
Why the study?
Public health organizations need effective approaches to alter students' health-related behaviors, as increases in healthy behaviors like physical activity and sleep remain limited.
Does fitness self-testing improve physical activity and sleep behaviors in Chinese male college students?
Does fitness self-testing improve physical activity and sleep behaviors in Chinese male college students?
Fitness self-testing effectively boosts physical activity engagement among male Chinese college students, demonstrating its potential as a behavioral intervention.
Supports fitness self-testing in male college wellness programs; extends RCT evidence for self-monitoring to boost activity in young adults.
It has been well documented that a significant increase in healthy behaviors, such as physical activity (PA) and sleep, remains to be seen among students. As such, public health organizations across nations are in need of effective approaches to alter students’ health-related behaviors. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of fitness self-testing on PA and sleep behaviors among Chinese male college students. Method: Utilizing a clustered randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, 89 participants were into an intervention (n = 44) and a control (n = 45) group based on their class enrollment: (1) The intervention group conducted monthly fitness self-testing, which allowed them to create personalized physical activity plans. (2) The control group did not participate in fitness self-testing, and no feedback about their fitness-related behaviors was provided. Both groups received initial training on Health-related fitness testing and wore Xiaomi Band 5 for pre-test and post-test data collection. The RM-MANCOVA was performed to test the changes in PA and sleep levels from pre- and post-tests, after controlling for pre-test VO2 max. The significance level was set at 0.05. A significant time*group interaction was (Pillai’s Trace = .40, F4, 83 = 13.89, p < .001, η2 = .40) PA. Comparisons between the intervention and control groups showed significant interactions in several areas: Daily Weekday Steps (F1,87 = 15.14, p <. 001, η2 = .15), Daily Weekend Steps (F1,87 = 12.48, p < .05, η2 = .13), Daily Weekday Active Time (F1,87 = 24.44, p < .001, η2 = .22), Daily Weekend Active Time (F1,87 = 20.32, p < .001, η2 = .19). However, there was no significant time*group interaction for sleep behaviors (Wilk’s Λ = .98, F4, 83 = .45, p = .77, η2 = .02). Fitness self-testing effectively boosts PA engagement among male Chinese college students, demonstrating its potential as a behavioral intervention. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects and applicability of this approach in different cultural and educational settings.
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Shangguan et al. (2026) studied this question. Fitness self-testing significantly increased daily weekday and weekend steps and active time among Chinese male college students compared to a control group.
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