Youth's perceptions of physical exercise and its effect on health

Abstract

The aim of this exploratory descriptive study was to explore youth's perceptions of physical exercise and its effect on health. Twenty youth (n=20), between the ages of 18 to 24 years were chosen purposively and divided into two groups of ten (n=10), with both groups equally representing both sexes, to discuss the topics 'physical exercise' and 'health' using the nominal group technique. A 100% response rate was achieved. Each session was audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The qualitative data was analysed using the data analysis procedures outlined by Miles and Huberman (1994). The results of the study revealed that youth perceive the meaning of health in a comprehensive manner, including all the physical, psychological, social, emotional and spiritual health. They also identified physical exercise as being an effective method in providing support to health holistically, although they focused more on the physical aspect. Incorporating enjoyment along with physical exercise was found to be one of the reasons that augment youth's participation. Youth, however, also identified several barriers that impede them from exercising, such as cost and lack of time. It is recommended to stress the importance of the benefits associated with physical exercise and health equally, and depicting a healthy lifestyle as a pleasurable and satisfying element in their daily life. Furthermore, several recommendations for supplementary research have been made, which include the use of larger and random sample of youth, interviews, and an examination of youth's perceptions and their actual lifestyle choices and behaviours.