Relationship between coaches’ health promotion activities, sports experience and health among adults

Abstract

Objective: Health promotion in sports clubs is receiving increased attention, but its benefits have not been widely evaluated for two reasons: (1) the difficulty in measuring ecological approach outcomes and (2) the existing literature having focused more on coaches’ efficiency rather than on health promotion. This article analyses the relationship between coaches’ health promotion activities, sports experience and health among adult sports participants. Design: A cross-sectional study using self-reported measurement among 204 adult sports participants ( Mage = 49.05). A questionnaire measuring demographics, coaches’ health promotion activities (healthy lifestyle, substance use and respect for oneself and others), sports experience (enjoyment, subjective vitality) and health (perceived health and quality of life, self-esteem) was completed either before or after a training session. Setting: Sixteen sports clubs in France Method: Multilevel analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between health promotion, sports experience and health outcomes, while t-tests compared differences between male adult and youth samples. Results: Adult perceptions of coaches’ health promotion activities were linked to enjoyment, perceived health and subjective vitality. The topic ‘healthy lifestyle’ was related to enjoyment and perceived health among adults. The topic ‘respect for oneself and others’ was related to self-esteem. Conclusion: Adult and youth perceptions of coaches’ health promotion activities vary and are linked to different health outcomes. More research is needed to better identify the benefits of health promotion in sports clubs for sports participants, including longitudinal studies to explore causal relationships between variables.