Abstract
BACKGROUND: The decreasing interest and participation in sports among university students has become a growing concern, negatively impacting their physical and mental health. Modern university students engage less in regular physical exercise despite having more leisure time. This study explores whether integrating public welfare activities into sports can enhance students' interest and participation in physical activities. METHODS: A longitudinal intervention experiment was conducted with 360 university students from Zhejiang Province, randomly assigned to an experimental group (248 students) and a control group (112 students). The experimental group participated in sports activities integrated with public welfare initiatives, while the control group engaged in a general sports project without philanthropic elements. Changes in sports behavior were assessed using a stage classification model of exercise participation, and sports interest was measured through validated questionnaires. RESULTS: The research results figure out that the Public Welfare Sports can distinctly promote periodic change of the Students' Exercises Interests and Behavior. When controlled the Low-initial exercises interests, the exercises interests contribute to the significant of positive effect on the interests in public welfare sports. The influence of public welfare sports on the Students' Exercises Interests & Behavior is distinct. This study enriches the relevant theories of public welfare sport area and as a reference for theoretical support for how to better plan public welfare sports programs, in this way the public welfare and the sports can be combined effectively as well as promoting the students' interest in sports. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that public welfare engagement can drive behavioral change, offering valuable insights for designing sports programs that effectively encourage sustained participation.