A new study has suggested that highlighting emotional benefits of sport and exercise to young people is a much better way of increasing their levels of physical activity rather than emphasizing on traditional health benefits.

The study involved 128 students aged 16 to 19 in England, recruited from the sixth forms of four schools in West Yorkshire. Participants received daily text messages for two weeks encouraging exercise.

The physical activity levels of all participants rose by an average of 31.5 minutes of moderate level activity per week after receiving the messages for two weeks, the researchers posted in this week's online issue of the British Journal of Health Psychology.

The observation discovered that the physical activity levels of all 128 participants boosted after the two-week intervention by an average 31.5 minutes of moderate activity per week.

In addition, it is revealed that the biggest boost in physical activity was witnessed for inactive teenagers who received the text messages that outlined the emotional benefits of exercise which was equivalent to 120 more minutes of moderate exercise.