Childhood obesity, linked to a sedentary lifestyle and an unbalanced diet, is one of
the main problems in today’s Western societies. In this sense, the aim of the study
was to analyze students’ perceived satisfaction in physical education classes with
learning strategies and engagement in learning and critical thinking as determinants of
healthy lifestyle habits. The study involved 2,439 high school students aged 12–18 years
(M = 14.66, SD = 1.78). Structural equation modeling was conducted to analyze the
predictive relationships between the study variables. The results showed that teaching,
teaching mastery, and cognitive development are precursors to deep thinking on the part
of students, indicators of the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. These results reflect the
importance of the methodology adopted by the teacher in order to positively influence
the students’ habits.
