Psycho-physiological effects of television viewing during exercise

We propose that enjoyment is an important factor in the adoption and long-term maintenance of exercise. television (tv) viewing is believed to be a highly enjoyed leisure-time activity,combining it with exercise may make for a more enjoyable exercise experience. the objective of this study was to examine the effects of television (tv) viewing on psychological and physiological variables during a moderate-intensity exercise bout. twenty-eight insufficiently active (<150 minutes per week of moderate intensity pa and/or 75 minutes of vigorous pa) adults (age: m = 47.4 ± 7.6 years) participated in this study. each participant performed three separate 30-minute walking bouts on a motorized treadmill. during each bout,participants watched a program they selected (30-minute scripted show) (self-selected tv condition),a british broadcasting corporation (bbc) nature program (standardized tv condition),or no tv program (no tv condition). participants were unable to select the nature program as their self-selected program,as it was not a 30-minute scripted program. a polar heart rate (hr) monitor and validated surveys on affect and enjoyment were used. participants reported greater enjoyment of exercise for both self-selected and standardized tv conditions (97.1 ± 15.2 and 92.7 ± 15.2),compared to the no tv condition (77.5 ± 13.4,p < 0.001). the two tv conditions resulted in similar levels of focus on tv viewing (self-selected tv: 81.2 ± 19.7; standardized tv: 79.1 ± 14.2,p > 0.05) and dissociation from walking (self-selected tv: 38.1 ± 6.7 and standardized tv: 33.2 ± 3.9); they also resulted in more dissociation than the no tv condition (tv: 72.6 ± 5.6,p = 0.002). the findings indicate that tv viewing,regardless of whether the programming is self-selected or standardized,associates with greater enjoyment of exercise. © journal of sports science and medicine.