PA enjoyment fully mediated the relationship between overweight and physical activity in both questionnaire-based and accelerometer-based data, suggesting that reduced PA enjoyment partly contributes to lower PA levels among children with overweight.
Key Findings
Results
PA enjoyment fully mediated the relationship between overweight and physical activity compared to normal weight children in questionnaire-based data.
Indirect effect = -0.104, 95% CI [-0.135, -0.075]
Full mediation indicates the direct effect of overweight on PA became non-significant when PA enjoyment was included
Sample for questionnaire-based analysis: 3,718 participants (52.4% male, mean age 10.4 ± 3.7 years)
Weight status was categorized using International Obesity Task Force cut-offs
Results
PA enjoyment fully mediated the relationship between overweight and physical activity compared to normal weight children in accelerometer-based data.
Indirect effect = -0.065, 95% CI [-0.100, -0.034]
Accelerometer-based subsample included 1,531 participants (52.1% male, mean age 10.7 ± 3.6 years)
Physical activity was measured objectively using activPAL4 accelerometers
Results were adjusted for age, sex, and socioeconomic status
Results
PA enjoyment showed a small but significant indirect effect mediating the relationship between underweight and physical activity in questionnaire-based data, but not in accelerometer-based data.
Questionnaire-based indirect effect for underweight = -0.035, 95% CI [-0.068, -0.003]
Accelerometer-based indirect effect for underweight = -0.025, 95% CI [-0.055, 0.003], confidence interval crossed zero indicating non-significance
Findings for underweight were described as 'less consistent' across measurement methods
Mediation analyses used Hayes PROCESS mediation macro for total, direct, and indirect effects
Methods
The study used both self-reported and accelerometer-based measures of physical activity to assess mediation by PA enjoyment across a nationwide German sample.
Data came from the MoMo 2.0-Study conducted in Germany during 2023–2024
PA enjoyment was measured with the short version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES)
Questionnaire-based PA was assessed via the MoMo-Physical Activity Questionnaire
Objective PA was measured with activPAL4 accelerometers in a subsample of 1,531 participants
Cross-sectional study design; causality cannot be inferred
Results
Children and adolescents with overweight show lower physical activity levels than peers with normal weight, and this difference is explained through reduced PA enjoyment.
The mediation was described as 'full' for the overweight group, meaning PA enjoyment accounted for the total association between overweight and PA
Results held across both subjective and objective PA measurement methods for the overweight group
Authors emphasize 'the role of motivational factors in this pathway'
The study adjusted analyses for age, sex, and socioeconomic status to control for confounding
Conclusions
The authors conclude that interventions to promote physical activity in children with overweight may benefit from targeting PA enjoyment as a key motivational pathway.
Finding is based on full mediation of the overweight–PA relationship by PA enjoyment in both measurement modalities
Authors suggest 'motivational factors' are central to the pathway linking weight status to PA
The cross-sectional design limits causal interpretation of findings
For underweight children, intervention implications were less clear due to inconsistent findings across measurement methods
What This Means
This research suggests that children and adolescents who are overweight are less physically active than their normal-weight peers, and that a key reason for this difference is that they enjoy physical activity less. The study analyzed data from over 3,700 children and teens across Germany, using both self-reported questionnaires and wearable activity monitors to measure physical activity. When researchers statistically accounted for differences in physical activity enjoyment, the direct link between being overweight and being less active disappeared — meaning enjoyment appears to explain the full gap in activity levels between overweight and normal-weight children.
For children who were underweight, the picture was less clear: enjoyment explained a small part of the activity difference when measured by questionnaire, but this finding did not hold up when physical activity was measured with accelerometers. This inconsistency means the role of enjoyment in underweight children's activity levels remains uncertain.
This research suggests that programs aimed at getting overweight children more physically active might be more effective if they focus on making physical activity fun and enjoyable, rather than solely on increasing the amount of exercise. Because the study was conducted at a single point in time, it cannot prove that low enjoyment causes reduced activity — but the consistent findings across two different ways of measuring activity strengthen the case that enjoyment is an important factor worth addressing in health promotion efforts for children.
Check Your Own Numbers
Upload your bloodwork. We'll cross-reference your results against this study and 4,700 others.
Tschuschke L, Volk C, Jekauc D, Hanssen-Doose A, Niessner C, Woll A, et al.. (2026). Physical activity enjoyment as a mediator between weight status and physical activity in children and adolescents: results of the MoMo 2.0-Study.. BMC pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-026-07090-0