Mental training can improve physical activity behavior in adolescent girls

Background: Lately, physical activity (PA) in young girls has been frequently discussed, thus we were interested to examine whether a mental training intervention can increase the level of PA in young girls. Methods: A sample of 56 girls aged 15.4 +/- 0.3 years (mean +/- SD) was assigned to either the intervention or control group. We then conducted a 6-week mental imagery training program on young female participants. PA was evaluated with objective accelerometer monitors. Physical self-concept was also assessed in all participants. Results: Young females' PA increased after a course of mental training compared to female participants in control group. Furthermore, physical self-concept improved related to mental training program. Conclusion: Exercise imagery may be an effective method of PA increase besides psychological enhancement in young girls. (C) 2017 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Shanghai University of Sport. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).