ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1648594
This article is part of the Research TopicPsychological Factors in Physical Education and Sport - Volume VIView all 15 articles
The influence of exercise on body esteem among college students of different genders: Evidence from Latin dance and aerobics
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jinan University School of Physical Education, Guangzhou, China
- 2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Speed Capability Research, Su Bingtian Center for Speed Research and Training, Guangzhou, China
- 3Yichun University, Yichun, China
- 4Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China
- 5Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Speed Capability Research, Su Bingtian Center for Speed Research and Training, Guangzhou,Guangdong, China, Guangzhou, China
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Background Body esteem is pivotal to college students' psychological well-being. Evidence suggests Latin dance and aerobics can enhance body image, but comparative, gender-specific effects remain underexplored. Methods In a 12-week randomized controlled trial, students (N=90; 45 men, 45 women) were assigned to Latin dance (LD), aerobics (AE), or control (CT). Body esteem was assessed pre-and post-intervention using PSPP subscales: sport competence (SC), physical condition (PC), body attractiveness (BA), physical strength (PS), and general physical self-worth (PSW). Statistical analyses included independent sample t-tests, paired sample t-tests, and ANOVA. Results Both LD and AE improved overall body esteem versus CT (p<0.05). Compared with CT, LD produced greater gains in BA and SC (p<0.05), with significant benefits among female participant (BA, SC: p<0.05). AE produced larger improvements in PC and PS versus CT (p<0.05), with significant gains among male participant (PS: p<0.01; PC: p<0.05). No 2 between-group differences were observed for PSW (LD vs AE, ns). Conclusion This study indicates that both Latin dance and aerobics effectively enhance body esteem among college students but through distinct mechanisms. Latin dance particularly improves emotional and social dimensions of body esteem, offering pronounced benefits for female participant, while aerobics primarily enhances physical fitness aspects, more effectively benefiting male participant. These findings underscore the importance of providing diverse exercise modalities in university wellness programs to cater to varied gender-specific psychological and physical health needs.
Keywords: Body esteem, body image, Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP), Latin dance, Aerobics, college students, gender differences, randomized controlled trial
Received: 20 Jun 2025; Accepted: 14 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Zeng, Qiu, Li and Dong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Han Li, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China
Heling Dong, Jinan University School of Physical Education, Guangzhou, China
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