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Physical education could play a role in attenuating the decline in physical activity during the childhood-toadolescence transition and inspiring children to adopt a lifelong physical activity habit. While psychological theories (e.g., Self-Determination Theory, Achievement Goal Theory) offer pointers for desirable changes to practice norms, experimental tests of the effectiveness of theory-based interventions in school settings are lacking. In this study, we compared the effects of a "traditional" and a "novel" physical education lesson on affective valence, enjoyment, and perceived satisfaction of the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Design Within-subjects field experiment, with two counterbalanced conditions. Method The participants were 148 children (4-6th grade, 52% female). Both lessons consisted of practicing aerobic capacity (running), core (curl-ups), and upper-body (push-ups) strength and endurance. In the "traditional" lesson, practice procedures followed FITNESSGRAM™ test instructions. The "novel" lesson incorporated elements designed to address basic psychological needs (e.g., freedom to select preferred running path, positive interactions among peers) and other evidence-supported modifications (e.g., music and video). Results Affective valence declined in the "traditional" lesson but remained stable in the "novel" lesson. Enjoyment and need-satisfaction for competence were higher after the "novel" lesson. These differences occurred despite no significant differences in total accelerometer-assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and the intensity of the aerobic components. Conclusions Easily implementable, theory-based modifications to physical education practices could improve the experiences derived by students. In turn, experiencing physical education as more pleasant, enjoyable, and need-supportive could raise the odds of long-term physical activity participation.

The transition from childhood to adolescence is marked by a dramatic decrease in physical activity (PA). Physical education (PE) experiences may contribute to this change but remain underresearched. Using a retrospective survey, we examined whether memories of enjoyment or nonenjoyment of PE relate to present-day (adult) attitudes, intentions, PA, and sedentary behavior. An online questionnaire was completed by 1028 American respondents (18–45 yr). The participants rated their retrospective enjoyment of PE, present attitudes and intentions for PA, as well as present PA and sedentary behavior. In addition, participants responded with their best and worst PE memories in an open-ended fashion. Retrospective enjoyment of PE was associated with present-day attitude (r = 0.37, P < 0.00001) and intention (r = 0.23, P < 0.00001) for PA, as well as negatively associated with sedentary time on the weekend (r = −0.14, P < 0.00001). The best memories related to enjoyment of the activities in class (56%), experiencing feelings of physical competence (37%), and, interestingly, 7% were not having to take PE class any longer or skipping the class. Of the worst memories, 34% related to embarrassment, 18% to lack of enjoyment, 17% to bullying, 14% to social–physique anxiety, 16% to injury, and 2% to being punished by the PE teacher. Childhood memories of PE are associated with PA attitude, intention, and sedentary behavior in adulthood. Intensified research efforts should be directed toward understanding the factors and processes that lead to the formation of memories of PE.

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The promotion of physical activity and exercise has been a persistently challenging problem for industrialized societies. Traditionally, these behaviors have been conceptualized as resulting from the rational processing of information (e.g., regarding anticipated benefits, personal capabilities, sources of support). Therefore, attempts to change these behaviors have relied on the provision of information. The persistent failure to account for substantial portions of behavioral variance or raise physical activity and exercise behavior in a sustainable manner is forcing researchers to expand their theoretical perspective. Thus, emerging dual-process conceptualizations postulate that, besides an information-based pathway, physical activity and exercise may be influenced by affect, such as the energy and tiredness felt in daily life, or the pleasure and displeasure responses to past exercise. This chapter highlights potential conceptual and methodological pitfalls in this emerging line of research and summarizes the promising results of early correlational and experimental studies.

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Exercise or physical activity are recommended options within stepped-care treatment models for depression. However, few physicians present these options to patients, in part because of the impression that the supporting evidence is weak or inconsistent. We speculate that the coocurrence of "counter-messaging" and deficient critical appraisal may lead to such impressions. We focus on TREAD-UK (ISRCTN16900744), the largest trial to investigate "whether physical activity can be an effective treatment for depression within primary care". In media statements, researchers declared that exercise was ineffective in lowering depression. We examined (a) the results of the trial, critiques, and rejoinders, (b) the impact on internet searches, and (c) whether TREAD-UK was critically appraised, as reflected in citing articles. We show that the results of TREAD-UK were misrepresented. The media campaign resulted in a fourfold increase in relevant internet searches. Of articles characterising the results, 57% adopted the interpretation that exercise failed to lower depression, whereas only 17% were critiques. We identify similarities to media portrayals of the OPERA (ISRCTN43769277), DEMO (NCT00103415), and DEMO-II trials (NCT00695552). We note a disconcerting trend of media campaigns that misrepresent the effects of exercise on depression and call for increased scrutiny in peer reviewing both pre- and post-publication.

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