Leisure-Time Internet Use Does Not Correlate with Physical Activity or Physical Fitness Level of Ninth Grade African-American Girls

Abstract

We assessed leisure-time Internet use (IU) and its relationship to physical fitness (PF) and leisure-time physical activity (PA) among 295 adolescent African-American girls. In addition, scales measuring variables in the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) were administered to elucidate PA data. Based on responses to the IU Questionnaire, participants were placed into either an Internet Nonuser (n = 184) or Internet User (n = 111) group. PF was assessed using body mass index (BMI) and AAHPERD Youth Fitness Tests. There were no correlations found between the fitness test scores and IU, PA, or BMI. No correlation was found between IU and PA, and similar findings were noted between PA and each variable constituting the TRA. As expected, within the TRA variables studied, significant moderate to high correlations were found between both Attitude to Exercise and Subjective Norm with Intention to Exercise, r = .43 and r = .53, respectively. The remarkably low scores among participants on the fitness tests and TRA scales suggest that IU would have no appreciable influence on the PF of this population, irrespective of IU.