Effects of short-video use on undergraduates’ weight- loss intention: a regulatory mediation model

Abstract

This research intends to explore the effects of short video use on college students’ weight loss intentions, and its intrinsic mechanism of action, based on the responses of 1268 students from three universities in southwest China to questionnaires with the instruments of a sports participation scale, body image scale, self-esteem scale and weight loss intention scale. The findings are listed as follows: 1) Short video use can significantly and positively predict weight loss intention; 2) Body image mediates the relationship between short video usage and weight loss intentions; 3) Self-esteem plays a regulatory effect as the direct path between short video use and weight loss intention as well as partial mediation effect of body image. The direct effect of short video use on weight loss intentions and the mediating effect of body image gradually increased with the decrease of self-esteem. The results of the study suggest that short video use can affect the weight loss intentions of college students through either a direct or indirect path created by the mediating role of body image. Meanwhile, the influence of self-esteem on weight loss intention can’t be ignored, which is another key factor that affects college students’ weight loss intentions beyond short video use and body image.