Quality Of Amateur- Vs. Professionally-made Exercise Videos For Youth Physical Activity Promotion

BACKGROUND: Amateur-made exercise videos provided a low-cost strategy to promote youth physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the quality of these videos has not been evaluated to determine if they are a viable alternative to more costly professionally-made videos for engaging youth in PA. PURPOSE: To examine the quality of amateur-made exercise videos and compare them to professionally-made videos using a theory-based rubric, both associated with the Interrupting Prolonged Sitting with ACTivity (InPACT) at Home program. METHODS: Physical education teachers and fitness professionals created exercise videos at home (amateur) and/or with a local television studio (professional). An evaluation rubric based on the Cognitive Load Theory was used to assess the quality of each video. Three domains were assessed, with four components each: [technical (visual quality, audio quality, matching modality, signaling), content (instructional objective, met objective, call to action, bias), and instructional (learner engagement, content organization, segmenting, weeding)]. Each component was scored on a three-point scale from 0 (absent) to 2 (proficient). A video scoring 20-24 total points was high quality, 13-19 points was moderate quality, and less than 13 points was low quality. Three reviewers independently evaluated the videos and then agreed on scores and feedback. RESULTS: A total of 156 amateur- and 132 professionally-made videos were evaluated. On average, amateur videos were of moderate quality, with a mean total score significantly lower than professional videos (19.1 ± 0.2 vs. 20.1 ± 0.1; p < 0.001). Amateur videos scored significantly lower in the technical and instructional domains (ps < 0.001), with no difference in the content domain (p = 0.06). Amateur videos scored significantly lower in the specific components of visual quality, audio quality, matching modality, learner engagement (ps < 0.001), content organization (p = 0.006), and call to action (p = 0.003). Amateur videos scored significantly higher in signaling (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, amateur videos were of lower quality than professional videos, which may impede youth engagement. Video creators should focus on enhancing the technical and instructional components of videos to better support youth PA at home.