Graduate Student Research Symposium 2025

The trend of limited physical activity (PA) is disproportionately identified for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) both in the youth and adult populations. The growing number of chronic and preventable diseases may be related to a lack of PA and/or early adoption of PA in life. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to examine youth attitudes towards PA, PE, and PA intention and behavior between NHPIs and other races. Results suggest that significant differences between groups were not present and that NHPI youth PA attitudes were related to PA intentions and behaviors beyond PE attitudes. This aligns with previous data from the majority of U.S. races, suggesting a significant disconnect between PE experiences and PA choices within culture.