Effects of an in-school physical activity-based lifestyle intervention on mental well-being

Objective: Low mental well-being is increasingly reported among vocational education and training (VET) students. Changing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) may be beneficial for student mental well-being (SMW). Therefore, the effect of an existing physical activity (PA)-based lifestyle intervention on MVPA, SB and consequently the SMW of VET students was investigated. Design: Quasi-experimental study Setting: VET schools in the Netherlands. Method: A total of 126 VET students participated in either education with an integrated 20-week PA-based lifestyle intervention or in a control group that received education without an integrated lifestyle intervention. PA and SMW were measured at baseline and after 20 weeks. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess SB and MVPA. The Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale and Rosenberg self-esteem scale were used to assess depressive symptoms and self-esteem. Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant time*group effect (F(1, 93) = 7.53, p = .007, η ² = .08) for SB: SB decreased in the experimental group compared to the control group. MVPA did not change over time in both groups. No effect of the intervention on self-esteem or depressive symptoms was found. Conclusion: The intervention was successful in decreasing SB. However, the intervention did not seem to increase MVPA, and the decrease in SB did not seem to influence self-esteem and depressive symptoms, future research should investigate whether a more intensive PA-based lifestyle intervention is more effective in increasing MVPA and SMW.