ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This analysis of a large-scale survey of college students from 2003 to 2007 explores relationships between meeting vigorous physical activity (VPA) recommendations and key demographic, lifestyle, and personal characteristics. METHODS: Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to analyze VPA data from the Utah Higher Education Health Behavior Survey, a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted in 2003 (N = 4574), 2005 (N = 9673) and 2007 (N = 7938). RESULTS: Factors consistently associated with meeting VPA recommendations included involvement in extracurricular sports, being single, and daily consumption of fruits or vegetables. In contrast, factors such as older age (> 23 years old), having a particularly low (<18.5 kgËm2) or high BMI (> 34.9 kgËm2), and being a current smoker were associated with not meeting the VPA recommendation. This corroborates paradoxical findings that binge alcohol consumption correlates with meeting VPA. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the need for targeted interventions among college students to support the establishment of long-term protective behavioral patterns against chronic disease risk throughout the life course.
Subject(s)
Diet, Healthy/statistics & numerical data , Exercise , Health Behavior , Students/statistics & numerical data , Universities/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Adult , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Utah/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine whether college students meeting the vigorous physical activity (VPA) recommendation reported less frequent symptoms of depression than those not meeting the recommendation. METHODS: A secondary analysis of the Utah Higher Education Health Behavior Survey was conducted. Descriptive statistics and unconditional logistic regressions were calculated. RESULTS: The final sample included 8621 participants (age = 21.34 +/- 2.6 years). There was a difference in the frequency of depressive symptoms and VPA. Those not meeting the VPA recommendation reported having more frequent depressive symptoms than those meeting the VPA recommendation. Results were consistent by gender. CONCLUSION: In this sample, our data suggest VPA may be associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms. These findings might be indicative of a dose-response relationship between VPA and symptoms of depression in college students.