The mediating effect of action planning on physical activity behaviors of university students in South Korea: based on an integrated theory

Background: The main concern in many countries is to increase physical activity levels of adolescent populations in terms of prevention of obesity and adult disease. Physical activity levels of university students in South Korea have decreased remarkably in recent years. The motivation process has been regarded as a key factor for the understanding of participation and maintenance in physical activity. As a research gap discovered in previous studies, the exploration of motivational processes including multiple factors is helpful to find out the precise reason students engage in physical activity, then improving their physical activity levels. In particular, this study focused on the mediating role of action planning to explore the effects on physical activity behavior drawn by motivational tenets of Self-Determination Theory and Planned Behavior of Theory. Purpose: The purpose of this study examined the relationships between autonomous motivation, behavioral intention, action planning,...