Where’s the Joy in That? Sexual Minority College Students Report Lower Physical Activity Engagement and Enjoyment Compared to Heterosexual Students

Sexual minority (e.g. non-heterosexual) individuals are at greater risk for negative health outcomes, often linked to inadequate physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to assess PA levels and PA enjoyment among college students, by sexual orientation. Data were collected from a volunteer sample of college students enrolled in general health and wellness courses offered at a large, Northeastern U.S. university via an online survey. Participants self-reported demographic information, PA levels using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), and PA enjoyment using a 7-item Physical Activity Enjoyment scale (PACES). Among participants (n = 1471), independent sample t-tests showed that sexual minority (SM) students reported significantly lower mean MET-mins/week of MPA (M_Heterosexual = 568.09 ± 488.12 vs. M_{Sexual minority} = 469.95 ± 471.51; p =.006) and VPA (M_Heterosexual = 1089.54 ± 1110.64 vs. M_{Sexual Minority} = 628.93 ± 942.78; p <.001), ST days/week (M_Heterosexual = 1.93 ± 1.90 vs. M_{Sexual Minority} = 1.00 ± 1.60; p <.001), and reported lower total PACES score (M_Heterosexual = 7.80 ± 1.92 vs. M_{Sexual Minority} = 6.87 ± 2.14; p <.001) compared to heterosexual students. Bootstrap mediation analyses with 5000 samples revealed that PACES has direct and indirect mediation effects on the association between sexual orientation status and MET-mins/week of MPA and VPA, and ST days/week. The current findings provide evidence of the underlying mechanisms linked to the physical activity disparities experienced by SM college students compared to heterosexual students. Additionally, PACES can serve as a facilitator to promote PA engagement among SM students. These findings can inform future intervention work to target PA enjoyment for meaningful behavior change.