The effects of a student focused print intervention on the physical activity habits of freshmen college students

Significant amounts of researchers have found college students\u27 physical activity participation decreases as they transition from high school to college. Numerous methods to overcome this reduction in physical activity have been explored. The purpose of this research is to determine the effects of a student focused print brochure on the physical activity habits of freshmen college students. To determine if the brochure was effective, incoming freshmen college students were grouped into three intervention conditions and asked to participate in a pre and post intervention survey that assessed their physical activity participation eight months prior to arriving at university and again six weeks into college. The researcher hypothesized that students\u27 who received the student focused brochure would exhibit greater amounts of physical activity than those in the other two groups during the intervention period. Consistent with previous studies, the mean physical activity levels of each condition dropped. However, the results indicated that statistically the student focused brochure had the greatest impact in minimizing students\u27 drop in physical activity. Recreation and public health practitioners should create market specific promotional materials that take advantage of current trends in technology. Suggestions for future research include exploring the effectiveness of physical activity promotional material created for specific market segments and using social media and cell phone applications to promote physical activity participation