Resiliency: Exercise, Nutrition, and Physical Health

The status of the physical exercise of college students has been a popular topic in China. This study systematically reviewed the exercise status of Chinese college students and its influencing factors. A keyword and reference search were conducted in the Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane library, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Additionally, Google Scholar was searched to collect literatures related to physical activity of Chinese university students published in Chinese and English from 1 January 2017 to 30 July 2022. Fifteen studies met the selection criteria and were included in the review. The results show that the main motivation for Chinese college students to exercise is to strengthen their bodies, with running and walking ranking first and ball games ranking second in importance. Most of the college students exercised three times a week, which is the recommended minimum, and most of their workouts were of moderate intensity. Additionally, the workouts lasted for 30 min to 60 min. The main factors affecting college students’ exercise are lack of time due to academic pressure, facilities constraints, and lack of professional exercise guidance. In conclusion, the physical fitness of university students should not be underestimated, and this study provides additional reference to promote healthier lifestyles among Chinese college students.

Pan, M., Ying, B., Lai, Y., & Kuan, G. (2022). Status and influencing factors of physical exercise among college students in china: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(20), 13465. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013465

Purpose: To deeply analyze the influencing factors on college students’ subjective well-being and the path mechanism between each factor. Method: The physical activity rating scale (PARS-3), the emotional intelligence scale (EIS), the self-efficacy scale (GSES), and the subjective well-being scale (SWS) were used for 826 students from two comprehensive universities in southwest China. College students conducted a questionnaire survey, and used SPSS22.0 and AMOS21.0 statistical software to process and analyze the obtained data. Results: (1) Physical exercise was significantly positively correlated with self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and subjective well-being; self-efficacy was significantly positively correlated with emotional intelligence and subjective well-being; emotional intelligence was significantly positively correlated with subjective well-being; (2) Physical exercise has a direct positive predictive effect on subjective well-being (ES = 0.16); (3) Self-efficacy (ES = 0.057) and emotional intelligence (ES = 0.077) play a part in mediating the role between physical exercise and subjective well-being, respectively. Meanwhile, the chain mediation effect (ES = 0.026) of self-efficacy and emotional intelligence also achieved a significant level, among them, only others’ emotional management and emotional application were involved in the regulation of emotional intelligence. Conclusions: Actively participating in physical exercise could not only directly improve the level of subjective well-being of college students but also indirectly affect their subjective well-being by improving their self-efficacy, as well as their emotional management and emotional application abilities, thereby improving college students’ life satisfaction feelings of happiness, such as degree, positive emotion, and negative emotion.

Wang, K., Li, Y., Zhang, T., & Luo, J. (2022). The relationship among college students’ physical exercise, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and subjective well-being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11596. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811596

This study investigates the detrimental effects of sports culture training on negative emotions in college students, focusing on the mediating and modifying role of mental toughness. According to the "Sports Culture Training Comment Scale," "Negative Emotion Scale," "Self-efficacy Evaluation scale," and "Psychological malleability scale," the hierarchical cluster convenient and quick sampling method was used to investigate 1500 college students, and spSS20.0 and AMOS20.0 were utilized to analyze the mediating effect and the moderating effect, respectively. Positively predicting and analyzing autonomy and stamina while adversely predicting and analyzing depression, anxiety, and stress. Independence and Physical Despair Predict and analyze anxiety, depression, and stress. Regarding the association between physical activity and negative emotions, the mediating effects of independence and psychological resilience contributed 26.78 percent and 31.33 percent, respectively, to the total benefits. Mental exercise's independence and adaptability are crucial in physical activity and unpleasant emotions. Training in sports culture increased college students' self-efficacy and mental toughness and effectively prevented and reduced negative feelings.

Cui, G., & Zhang, L. (2022). The influence of physical exercise on college students' negative emotions: The mediating and regulating role of psychological resilience. Revista De Psicología Del Deporte, 31(2), 21-28. Retrieved from https://login.proxy123.nclive.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/influence-physical-exercise-on-college-students/docview/2730390758/se-2

To date, the effect of both fixed and time-varying individual, social, psychological, environmental, and behavioral characteristics on temporal growth trends in physical activity (PA) among younger individuals remains an under-studied topic. In this paper, we address this gap in previous work by examining how temporal growth trends in PA respond to changing social, environmental, and behavioral characteristics using a large sample of college students (N = 692) who participated in the NetHealth project at the University of Notre Dame and from which fine-grained longitudinal data on physical activity and social interaction were collected unobtrusively via the use of wearables for 637 days (August 16, 2015 to May 13, 2017). These data are augmented by periodic survey data on fixed sociodemographic and psychological variables. We estimate latent growth-curve models for daily activity status, steps, active minutes, and activity calories. We find evidence of both a generalized friendship paradox and a peer effect for PA, with the average PA level of study participants’ contacts being on average larger than their own, and with this average level exerting a statistically significant effect on individual PA levels. Notably, there was limited evidence of temporal growth in PA across the 637 days of observation with null temporal effects for three out of the four PA indicators, except for daily steps taken. Finally, we find that social, psychological, and behavioral factors (e.g., large network size, high extroversion levels, and more courses taken) are systematically associated with higher PA levels in this sample. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of social, environmental, and behavioral factors (such as peer networks and daily sociability) in modulating the dynamics of PA levels among college students.

Wang, C., Lizardo, O., & Hachen, D. S. (2021). Using fitbit data to examine factors that affect daily activity levels of college students. PLoS One, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244747

Objective Assess physical activity (PA) and nutrition recommendation knowledge in college students. Participants: 71 students (n = 41 females;18 to 22 years) measured in May of 2014. METHODS: Knowledge of existence and accuracy of PA and nutrition recommendations were assessed via a verbal survey. Results: Most (67.6%) were aware PA recommendations exist, but only 26.8% could accurately report them. Almost all (91.5%) were aware nutrition guidelines exist, but no higher than 23.9% answered any specific recommendation correctly. There were no significant associations between sex or body mass index (BMI) and either awareness or accuracy of PA or nutrition recommendations. Non-Kinesiology majors were 3.3 times more likely to answer that they were not aware of the existence of PA recommendations, compared to Kinesiology majors. Conclusions: Accurate knowledge of the PA and nutrition recommendations are very low and given that the majority of participants were categorized as overweight or obese, teaching these guidelines needs to be the priority.

Werner, E., & Betz, H. H. (2022). Knowledge of physical activity and nutrition recommendations in college students. Journal of American College Health, 70(2), 340–346. https://doi-org.proxy123.nclive.org/10.1080/07448481.2020.1750412

This article presents the dataset titled “Nutrition habits amongst college students in the United States. [1]” The dataset contains the survey responses of 200 US college students aged 18–24 years regarding their knowledge, attitudes, and challenges with regard to nutrition. The recommended USDA (US daily allowance) is 200 calories, comprised of 2 cups fruits, 2.5 cups vegetables, 5.5 ounces of protein, 6 ounces of grains, and 3 cups of dairy [2]. Adhering to these nutritional guidelines however can be complicated by rising tuition prices, food insecurity, and inability to make one’s own food.

Gande, S., Mangal, R. K., Stead, T. S., & Ganti, L. (2023). State of nutrition amongst US college students: Dataset of a national survey study. BMC Research Notes, 16, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-023-06273-7