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This study examined the effect of cognitive demand on situational interest and performance using running tasks in physical education. Adolescents (N = 179) participated in a field study involving three different levels of cognitive demand. Running performances and situational interest were measured four times with a testing interval of seven days. Results from multivariate analyses of covariance suggested that cognitive demand had a significant effect on situational interest and running performances. Higher cognitive demand led to higher levels of situational interest. Situational interest was weakly or moderately correlated with running performances (|r| = .17−.40), yet students reported significantly lower performance when the perceived interest was the highest. These findings suggest the importance of designing instructional tasks with moderate cognitive demand to optimally preserve situational interest and performance in physical education. The findings also help further conceptualise the relations among cognitive demand, situational interest and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the prevalence of childhood obesity increases, it is important to examine possible differences in psychosocial correlates of physical activity between normal weight and overweight children. The study examined fatness (weight status) and (aerobic) fitness as Enabling factors related to youth physical activity within the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (YPAP). Youth ages 9–11 years (N= 1,103) completed the Children’s Physical Activity Correlates survey and the Children’s Physical Activity Questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among variables. Overweight children reported lower scores on global self-esteem, perceived competence, attraction to physical activity, and parental influence (Cohen’sdranging from .23 to .45 for girls; Cohen’sdranging from .31 to .43 for boys). Weight status showed a small positive direct effect on physical activity (standardized path coefficient = .11), but did not show effects on psychosocial correlates (p> .05). Furthermore, aerobic fitness proved to be a stronger Enabling factor (standardized path coefficient = .26) than weight status within the YPAP model. Future research using the YPAP model may extend its utility as an evaluation framework for youth physical activity intervention studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]