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Background Physical inactivity among undergraduates has raised increasing public health concern. Many Chinese universities have implemented physical exercise clock-in programs to promote regular participation. This study examined whether participation frequency is associated with higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and whether exercise habits mediate this relationship. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and May 2025 among 468 s-year undergraduates from a comprehensive university in Henan Province, China. MVPA was assessed based on self-reported frequency and duration of MVPA during the past seven days. Participation in the clock-in program was categorized into non-participation, occasional participation, and nearly/full attendance. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine associations. Propensity score matching (nearest neighbor, radius, and kernel matching) was applied to test robustness. Mediation analysis was performed via nonparametric percentile bootstrapping (5,000 resamples) to examine the indirect effect of exercise habits. Results High-frequency participation in the clock-in program was significantly associated with higher MVPA levels ( b = 18.751, 95% CI 7.08, 30.42, p 0.05), whereas occasional participation showed no significant effect. Propensity score matching yielded consistent results, with average treatment effects ranging from 16.34 to 19.48 min. Exercise habits partially mediated the relationship between high-frequency participation and MVPA (indirect effect = 5.99, 95% CI 2.50, 10.40). Additionally, gender-stratified subgroup analysis revealed a consistent pattern of this mediating effect across male and female undergraduates. Conclusion High-frequency participation in the physical exercise clock-in program is positively associated with greater physical activity among undergraduates, partly through exercise habits. Structured institutional physical activity programs may be correlated with more sustainable exercise behaviors in undergraduate populations.
Zhu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.