Physical activity is an important factor for the maintenance of health. Enjoyment of physical activity is essential to motivate persons to engage in sufficient physical activity. We examined whether self-reported enjoyment of PA is associated with objective measurement of the intensity of PA. A cardiovascular examination program was provided for individuals aged 40-75 years without a history of cardiovascular events in Greifswald, Germany between 2012 and 2013. Participants (n = 255) were asked to wear a three-axial accelerometer device (ActiGraph, GT3X +, Pensacola, Florida, USA) for 7 consecutive days. After wearing the device, the participants were asked to complete the 18-item self-administered physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES). Participants' (n = 200) daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and their enjoyment of PA were analysed in a linear regression approach. The mean age of the participants was 56.3 ± 9.7 years, 41.0% were male. The average MVPA duration was 44.4 ± 27.3 min per day. In the regression analysis, enjoyment of PA was positively associated with MVPA (β = 0.18, 95% CI (0.05; 0.31), p = 0.009), participants with higher enjoyment of PA showed higher MVPA. We found a positive association between MVPA and enjoyment of PA, although for male participants only. Between bouted MVPA and enjoyment of PA there was no significant relationship.
