Sport Motivation and Body Mass Index in Supportive Environment: A Study on PETE for Elementary School Students

Abstract

Unhealthy behaviours, such as poor diet and excessive use of technology, are associated with higher BMI and obesity in all age categories. In addition, weight issues, body image, depression, and anxiety have been identified as important factors in relation to BMI and health. This study aimed to analyze the sport motivation and body mass index (BMI) of adolescents in supporting environment, namely the Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) for Elementary School students. The research used descriptive quantitative method. A survey was conducted to obtain data on BMI and motivation in sport. The survey was conducted on 51 respondents. The respondents were PETE for Elementary School students aged 18-20 years. Respondents consisted of 32 males and 19 females. The instrument used to assess the sport motivation was the motivation scale developed by Li et al. The results of the analysis and discussion of this study conclude that 80% of the respondents had Body Mass Index (BMI) in the ideal or normal category and had very high sport motivation. There was no significant difference between male and female respondents in terms of BMI. This finding provides strong recommendations on how sport students and adolescents in general should exercise.