Applied exercise psychology children and adolescents

Using Welk’s (1999a) Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (YPAP) as the guide, the main objective of this chapter is to provide information regarding children and adolescents’ current physical activity patterns, share known explanations for these patterns, and review methods for engaging children and adolescents in physical activity. Moderators (i.e., personal sociodemographic factors) and mediating factors known to foster and sustain physical activity participation are discussed. Emphasis is placed on how to provide opportunities for fun experiences so that physical activity habits acquired during childhood and adolescence become lifelong health behaviors.