School physical activity modes on BMI among adolescents with overweight or obesity: The mediation role of participation willingness

Abstract Objectives To analyze the mode of school physical activity, the relationship with obesity, and participation willingness and behavior in the relationship between modes of school physical activity and BMI in students with overweight or obesity. Design Cross‐sectional study. Sample Data from the 2014 Physical Fitness and Health Surveillance of Chinese School Students was used, wherein physical measurements and questionnaires of 3476 middle school students were collected. Measurements Physical measurements and questionnaires were completed. Latent profile analysis and mediated effects analysis were conducted using Mplus 8.3 and IBM SPSS 26.0 for data description and statistical analysis. Result After latent profile analysis divided into poor (9.35%), medium (65.16%), and good (25.49%) groups of school physical activity, among junior middle school students, medium (OR = 0.428, 95% CI = 0.259–0.707, p = .001) and good (OR = 0.448, 95% CI = 0.255–0.718, p = .002) groups were positive for controlling overweight. Among students with overweight or obesity, participation willingness mediated the relationship between the mode of school physical activity and BMI, with effect coefficients of −0.120 (95% CI = −0.264 to −0.016) and −0.240 (95% CI = −0.426 to −0.099). Conclusions School physical activity modes have a positive effect only on preventing and controlling overweight in junior middle school students. For middle school students with obesity, weight‐specific measures should be considered for their prevention and control.