# The impact of physical activity on mental health in obese female college students: the role of flow experience in mediation and intrinsic motivation in moderation

## TL;DR

This study examines how physical activity improves mental health in obese female college students, with flow experience and intrinsic motivation playing key roles.

## Contribution

The study introduces a moderated mediation model linking physical activity, flow experience, intrinsic motivation, and mental health in obese female college students.

## Key findings

- Physical activity positively predicts subjective well-being and negatively predicts depression in obese female college students.
- Flow experience significantly mediates the relationship between physical activity and mental health outcomes.
- Intrinsic motivation moderates the relationship between physical activity and depression, but not subjective well-being.

## Abstract

Obesity and mental health are currently among the major global health issues. Obesity not only increases the risk of chronic diseases but also has negative effects on mental health, particularly among female college students. Existing studies primarily focus on the broader college student population, and research specifically addressing obese female college students is insufficient. To address this gap, the present study explores how physical activity influences the mental health of obese female college students, with flow experience as a mediating mechanism and intrinsic motivation as a moderating variable, thus constructing a moderated mediation model.

A structured survey was conducted with 484 female university students from various institutions in China to gather their self-reported data on physical activity, flow experience, intrinsic motivation, and mental health. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results show that physical activity significantly positively predicts the subjective well-being of obese female college students and significantly negatively predicts depression. Flow experience plays a significant mediating role in this relationship. Additionally, intrinsic motivation significantly moderates the relationships between physical activity and flow experience, as well as between physical activity and depression, nevertheless, it does not notably influence the relationship between physical activity and subjective well-being.

This research contributes to the existing literature on the mental health of obese female college students in the domain of sport psychology and offers a theoretical foundation for designing health promotion programs aimed at this group. The study recommends that future interventions prioritize boosting intrinsic motivation and fostering flow experiences to improve engagement and mental health outcomes for this population.