The Role of Social Physique Anxiety on Exercise Participation Among the Nigerian Youth

Good health is an essential aspect of human well-being and overall lifestyle. must good Thus, in regular is an integral of health-promoting it is observed that health with exercise participation, most individuals still live a sedentary lifestyle, especially the youth. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the role of social physique anxiety (SPA) on exercise participation among Nigerian youth. One hundred and twenty-eight youths randomly selected from tertiary institutions in Kogi State, Nigeria, participated in the study. The participants completed a self-report measure assessing SPA and participation in exercise. A simple regression model was adopted to test the primary assumption of the study. The result of the investigation revealed a positive interaction between SPA and physical activity. Thus, the study concludes that social physique anxiety is an essential determinant of exercise participation among the youth.

Health is an essential component of general well-being and overall lifestyle (Meenapriya et al., 2018). Thus, health maintenance is a priority in the sustenance of well-being (Tariman et al., 2016).Perhaps, physical activity is a health maintenance strategy that contributes positively to a person's healthy lifestyle. The health benefits associated with consistent physical activity and aerobic exercise are undisputed and extensive in the literature ( Sylvia et al., 2020). In the musculoskeletal system, regular exercise has been implicated in its increased functional capacity to withstand stress (Nawrocka et al., 2014;Topp et al., 2002) and quantified by the contraction of skeletal muscles increases energy consumption (Miko et al., 2020).
In addition, empirical evidence indicates a link between regular physical exercise and mental health in young people Conversely, despite the benefits accredited to regular physical activity, it is observed that most people within the youth stage do not regularly engage in physical exercise, thereby leading to a much-reported decline in health and wellness. There is enough evidence that sedentary lifestyle is one of the significant health problems worldwide (Uchôa et al., 2019). The World Health Organization identified physical inactivity as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, accounting for 6% of all deaths globally in its report of 2010 (WHO, 2010). Sedentary behavior has been linked to many chronic diseases, including mental comorbidities, systemic hypertension, metabolic dysregulation, cancer, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancers, and . Social physique anxiety refers to the subjective affective state that reflects concern about how others are evaluating one's body. SPA may be an essential predictor of physical activity because it may affect exercise cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors (Hausenblas et al., 2004). Research indicates that people who strongly identify themselves as exercisers and endorse an increased SPA level may be at risk for developing exercise dependence (Cook et al., 2015).
Anxiety means worry, apprehension, or feeling uneasy. Social physique anxiety is a special kind of anxiety that reflects the uneasiness experienced when a person believes that others are evaluating and judging their body, especiallyin a social situation such as exercising. People experience social physique anxiety when working out at a fitness center, wearing a swimsuit on the beach, or even standing up in front of a group giving a presentation. Young people, including adolescents and even children, tend to be more anxious about their bodybuilding and appearance than older adults. Evidence abounds that suggest that people with SPA problems tend to have body shape and size dissatisfaction, problematic eating behavior, and a stronger desire to avoid exercising in public. Thus, this study aims to investigate the variation in regular exercise participation among Nigerian youth based on SPA. Accordingly, the study hypothesized that social physique anxiety would predict regular exercise among Nigerian youth

Method:-
The study was conducted in Kogi State, Nigeria, between July and September 2021. The participants included males and females within the age range of 20-40 years, considered the youth age. The participants were mainly recruited from public tertiary institutions in the Kogi state. The participants were approached with the assistant of departmental leaders and research assistants and asked to participate in the study. However, the purpose of the study was explained to them, and they were equally informed that participation in the survey is voluntary. In the end, only those who consented were given the study questionnaire. In all, 136 questionnaires were distributed, and in return, 128 was received. Thus, the remaining eight copies were wrongly filled. Consequently, the one hundred and twentyeight (128) correctly filled questionnaires was used for the study Measure:-Exercise engagement was measured using a developed Personal Exercise Engagement Scale. The 10-item scale was designed to measure the overall attitudes of the youth toward regular exercise. The Likert-type scale was validated following a pilot study, and Cronbach alpha 0.78 reliability coefficient was obtained. A higher score indicates high exercise engagement.
1109 SPA was assessed with the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS). The instrumentconsists of seven items (e.g., "I am sometimes annoyed because I think others are negatively judging my weight or physical fitness"). The scale is scored on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Higher scores are related to symptoms of social physique anxiety, except for Item 5, which is redacted inversely (e.g., "I feel comfortable about how others appraise my body"). Cronbach alpha 0.81 reliability coefficient was recorded for the scale. A higher score shows high social physique anxiety.

Result:-
A simple linear regression model was employed to test the central hypothesis of the study. The analysis conducted on the data established a positive correlation between the variables (SPA and exercise participation). Thus, SPA statistically predicted exercise participation among the youth at F (1, 126) = 3.231, p > 0.00. More so, the adjusted R 2 indicates that SPA accounted for the observed 63.2% of the variation in youth's exercise participation.

Discussion:-
The current study aimed to determine the influence of social physique anxiety on exercise participation among a sample of Nigerian youth. The study was guided by a single assumption that SPA would significantly predict exercise participation among the youth. Based on this assumption, a simple linear regression analysis was performed on the data. Consequently, the outcome of the investigation revealed that the independent variable significantly predicted exercise participation among the samples. Based on the result, the central hypothesis of the study was affirmed. In other words, the study successfully provided a research direction implicating SPA as an essential determinant of exercise engagement. The study's finding is aligned with the previous results (Alpkaya, 2019; Cook et al., 2015), which correlated SPA with physical activities. SPA is a powerful psychological phenomenon that could significantly influence a person's motivation, attitude, interest, and behavior. Thus, this understanding explains to a large extent the study's outcome, in that the perception of a youth relating to the thought of others evaluation and assessment might be prohibiting most youth from participating in an exercise in the social context.
Meanwhile, SPA, on the other hand, might motivate some youth to engage in exercise. In this case, either to maintain physique or to show off. However, the central knowledge in this regard is that SPA is an essential variable in physical exercise.

Conclusion:-
The present study aimed to examine exercise participation based on social physique anxiety. Data for the study was collected from individuals within the youth stage of development who were assembled from public tertiary institutions in Kogi State, Nigeria. It was assumed that SPA would determine exercise participation among the samples. Hence, the result of the regression model deployed to test the hypothesis linked exercise participation with SPA. Thus, the study concludes that SPA is a positive predictor of exercise participation. Although the data collection was primarily self-reported, and the samples may not reflect a reliable criterion for generalization. The present study contributed to the exercise literature by identifying SPA as an essential variable in youth participation in exercise. The study recommends that future researchers endeavor to explore the mediating and moderating variables in the SPA-exercise participation relationship.