Relationship between physical activity and self-assessed health status of primary and secondary school teachers
In the course of this study, it was found that most teachers have a certain degree of health awareness, but their health literacy is not high, and they lack scientific and effective means of fitness. Coupled with the influence of work pressure and family pressure, there is still a great distance from health awareness to health action in the teacher group, resulting in a lack of active health behavior among the majority of teachers and the inability to effectively transmit the concepts of health education to their students. The results of the research show that teachers with poor self-assessed health status accounted for 29.8 percent of the number of teachers surveyed. Among them, 6.98 percent of teachers considered themselves "very unhealthy", 22.82 percent considered themselves "relatively unhealthy", 37.99 percent considered themselves "relatively healthy", and only 6.04 percent considered themselves "healthy". "Only 6.04% of the teachers think they are "very healthy". The reason for this is that primary and secondary school teachers' prolonged and intense workloads and excessive classroom hours have led to serious health problems, such as fatigue, lack of stamina and weakened immunity. Teachers' jobs usually demand a lot of time, which may diminish their opportunities to engage in physical exercise or other physical activities, and their busy working lives may lead to unhealthy dietary choices [20]. In addition, frequent teaching activities, prolonged standing, and exposure to large numbers of students and complex subject matter may increase teachers' physical load and tension, posing a potential threat to their physical and mental health.
When examining gender differences in physical activity and self-assessed health, it was found that there was no significant difference, while the survey of this study showed that female teachers were more physically active than male teachers, which is inconsistent with previous research [21], most studies believe that men will have greater physical activity than women, the reason for this result may be in psychological factors, women are usually more concerned about their physical appearance and physical health, and therefore are more likely to favor engaging in sport to maintain health and fitness and have higher physical expectations of themselves. In addition, exercise is also seen as an effective way to cope with stress and anxiety, and female teachers may be more inclined to exercise to reduce work and life stress [22]. In the bivariate correlation between frequency and duration of physical activity and self-rated health status, it was concluded that the higher the frequency and duration of physical activity, the higher the self-rated health status scores, specifically, individuals in the high exercise group had significantly higher self-rated health status scores (0.52±0.50) than those in the moderate exercise group (0.33±0.47) and low exercise group (0.20±0.40) (p< 0.001), and individuals in the moderate exercise group were significantly higher than those in the low exercise group in terms of self-rated health and its dimensions (P<0.001). This is consistent with the findings of Wenhong Zhang [16] that for every increase in the average number of hours of physical activity per week by teachers, the odds of being healthy increase by 9.09%. The present study found a significant positive correlation (P<0.01) between physical activity and physical health status, confirming that physical activity has a positive promotional effect on the physical health of primary and secondary school teachers, specifically, physical activity enhances physical health in an integrated manner by positively affecting multiple aspects of the cardiovascular system, metabolism, bones, immune system, and mental health. This finding is consistent with previous studies [23] and validates this study's hypothesis H1. The nature of teachers' work may lead to a number of physical health problems, but by actively engaging in physical activity, improving their lifestyles, and seeking social support, teachers can better manage these challenges, maintain and improve their health, and thus better fulfill their duties and responsibilities. Governments and school administrations can also take steps to support and promote the health of teachers to ensure that they are able to deliver high-quality educational services.
Mediating role of body image and self-efficacy in physical activity and self-rated health status
This study not only explored the direct relationship between physical activity and self-rated health status, but also examined the mediating role of body image and self-efficacy between physical activity and self-rated health status. The results showed that physical intention and self-efficacy played a partial mediating role in the effects of physical activity on the self-rated health status of primary and secondary school teachers, and their mediating effects accounted for 29.25% and 27.21% of the total effects, respectively, which verified the hypotheses H2 and H3, and also indicated that physical activity could indirectly improve the self-rated health status of primary and secondary school teachers through improving physical intention and self-efficacy. Among them, physical activity was significantly and positively correlated with both body image and self-efficacy, which is consistent with the results of previous studies [24]. The mediating effect of body image in physical activity and self-rated health has received extensive attention from scholars. Studies have shown that physical activity induces physiological responses, such as improved blood circulation and movement of body muscles, and the intensification of body sensations prompts individuals to pay more attention to and be more sensitive to their own bodies, which in turn enhances body image. Individuals with high body image are usually more attentive to the physical-mental connection, and they are more likely to be physically active, and this positive physical activity can have positive health effects, such as improved cardiovascular health, weight loss, and improved immune system functioning, which in turn improves self-rated health [25]. The tendency to adopt more relaxation and psychoeducation methods to relieve stress and anxiety, along with increased health awareness and promotion of positive health behaviors, leads to improved physical health.
In the study of the mediating role of self-efficacy, Bandura [26] emphasized that the more care and support an individual receives from the external environment, the greater his sense of self-efficacy, in which participation in physical activity is usually accompanied by social interaction and support; social support refers to understanding, encouragement, and recognition from others, and when an individual is positively supported by friends, family, or coaches, they are more likely to view physical activity as a positive experience and, as a result, have increased self-efficacy. Teachers with high self-efficacy in exercise had more positive emotional experiences, good enjoyment, lower subjective fatigue, and greater enjoyment of exercise, and they were more likely to persist in physical activity because they believed they could overcome obstacles, triumph over difficulties, and succeed. Consistent physical activity improves physical health, including mental health, and thus self-rated health. Thus, the prerequisite for teachers' self-efficacy improvement lies in favorable external environmental support focusing on the positive subjective construction of teachers' self-awareness of health [27]. Guidance, assistance and encouragement should be given to teachers for their different needs in order to improve their self-efficacy, create a good health culture, and encourage the whole school staff to participate in physical activities together with students.
Chain mediating role of physical intention and self-efficacy
According to the mediation effect test, it is confirmed that body image and self-efficacy have a chain mediation role in the chain of influence of physical activity on the self-assessed health status of primary and secondary school teachers, and the total indirect mediation effect value accounts for 82.31%, which verifies Hypothesis H4. This is consistent with the theory of the ABC model of psychology, which on the one hand proves that body image and self-efficacy have a role to play in health status; and on the other hand, it suggests that physical activity can further enhance the health status level of primary and secondary school teachers by enhancing body image and promoting the level of individual self-efficacy. This both enriches the results of existing studies and expands new research areas by further revealing the mechanisms by which physical activity affects body image and self-efficacy according to the model of physical activity and body image and self-efficacy proposed by Sonstron et al [28]. The model suggests that a person's body image consists of a number of sub-domains (e.g., physical, cognitive, and social), attractiveness, self-perception, and self-concept of cognitive status in comparison with others [29], and that an individual's self-efficacy increases with the increase in specific sub-domains body image, and vice versa [30]. Analyzing the reasons behind this, on the one hand, body imagery is the perception and evaluation of one's own body image, and self-efficacy largely stems from self-perception [31], and higher body imagery leads to positive perceptions and evaluations of the individual's own self [32], which in turn will enhance self-efficacy. Studies have identified the following main pathways through which body image and self-efficacy as chained mediating variables influence self-rated health: physical activity increases self-efficacy by lowering body BMI [33], helping to create a desirable body shape [34], and enhancing individuals' positive perceptions of body image [35] [36]. Physical activity has also been used as a post hoc factor in some studies, and body image was found to significantly predict physical activity, i.e., the more positive the body image, the more willing one is to engage in physical activity. As for teachers with low body image, it is likely to originate from their poorer exercise experiences and bad exercise feelings during previous exercise leading to their reluctance to engage in physical activity, and their weak ability to counteract discomfort during exercise, which makes their attitude towards self-efficacy also more negative, and their rejection of physical activity, which makes their self-assessed health status also generally low [37]. Torres [38] found that teachers were able to derive positive interpersonal relationships, a higher sense of belonging, and a rich teaching experience from their teaching activities, which enhanced their confidence in their self-body images and boosted their self-efficacy [39]. Teachers with high self-efficacy are not only more optimistic and positive, but also good at utilizing resources and coping with various problems and challenges in teaching with confidence of success, which leads to better work outcomes and healthier bodies [40]. Secondly, better body image can provide positive self-efficacy, protect individuals from negative psychological and emotional influences, and rationalize the negative energy phenomena encountered by teachers in lessons and work, and the maintenance of this benign emotional state ensures good health [41], which suggests that an increase in body image contributes to an increase in the level of health, which occurs through an increase in the level of self-efficacy of the individual. Therefore, the more physical activity a primary and secondary school teacher engages in, the higher the level of body image and the higher the level of self-efficacy, and regular physical activity can gradually contribute to the formation of a psychological virtuous circle, which in turn affects the improvement of physical health. It can be seen that the body image and self-efficacy of primary and secondary school teachers play an important role in the process of physical activity to promote health.