Background: This study aimed to examine the effect of Baduanjin exercise on COVID-19-related anxiety, psychological well-being, and the lower back pain of college students during the coronavirus pandemic in China.Setting: The study was carried out in a temporary experimental center of four universities in Wenzhou city in Zhejiang Province, China.Population: 387 participants who were college students were allocated to two groups: the Baduanjin exercise group(BEG, n = 195); and the Control group(CG,n = 192).Methods: In this randomized controlled trial,387 participants who were college students were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to 12-week Baduanjin exercise group (BEG, n = 195)and 12-week Control group(CG,n = 192).CAS(Coronavirus Anxiety Scale), PWBS(Psychological Well-being Scale),NMQ( Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire), was used to assess COVID-19-related anxiety, psychological well-being, and lower back pain at second times ( before and after the intervention). The paired t-test and an independent t-test (with a 95% confidence interval) was used to compare the outcome variables of the two groups.Results: Within-group comparison, there was no significant difference in the control group before and after the intervention. In contrast, the Baduanjin group had a significant improvement before and after the intervention. Between-group comparison, the Baduanjin group had a significant difference from the control group. The intervention effect on the Baduanjin exercise group was remarkably better than that of the control group (p < 0.05). Participants in the Baduanjin group significantly improved the corvid-19-related anxiety score decreased from ( 5.22 ± 0.45 to 5.07 ± 0.27, p < 0.05). The total psychological well-being score increased from (70.11 ± 8.65 to 84.12 ± 7.38,p < 0.05) and the prevalence of low back pain decreased from (22.45 ± 1.67 to 18.35 ± 1.05, p < 0.05) among college students.Conclusion: During the pandemic, the Baduanjin exercise contributes to the reduction of the perceived anxiety related to COVID-19, decreases the prevalence of the lower back pain, and improves the psychological well-being of college students.Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04432038. Registered on June 16, 2020.

Background: COVID-19 has brought people many negative emotions, such as fear and anxiety about the epidemic. However, when peo-ple in different countries face the COVID-19 epidemic, the impact is also different due to different cultural and sports hab-its. Therefore, this study compares China and Poland’s sports motivations in the face of COVID-19 anxiety to find out the cultural differences behind them.Participants and procedure: In the study were N = 674 participants (female n = 407, male n = 260, other n = 4). Their average age was M = 29.86, SD = 11.03. There were n = 381 participants in the Chinese sample, and n = 293 in Polish. The scales used for the purpose of the study were the Inventory of Physical Activity Objectives (IPAO) and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS).Results: The study results showed that the increased level of COVID-19 anxiety changed selected motives for physical activity, and different changes of motives characterized women and men as well as people of different ages. As predicted in the study model, culture was the moderator of the shifts of the selected motives.Conclusions: The understanding of what motivates individuals to participate in sport seems to have significant value, especially for health practitioners and researchers to design appropriate interventions and programs to increase activity.

A strong sociocultural context could affect an individual’s aesthetic standards. In order to achieve a socially recognized ideal appearance, obligatory exercisers might increase dieting behavior when exercise actions are disturbed, thereby placing the individual at risk of eating disorders. The current study mainly examined the relationship between obligatory exercise and eating attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and considered the mediating role of externalized sociocultural attitudes towards appearance between the two. A total of 342 participants (175 females, 167 males) from various regions of China were invited to fill out the questionnaires including the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire, the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3, and the Eating Attitudes Test. In total, 51.5% of the participants presented symptoms of an obligatory exercise behavior. Among them, males, young adults, and the participants with lower BMI had higher OEQ scores, whereas females and young adults had higher EAT-26 scores. Meanwhile, 9.4% of the participants might have had an eating disorder. The OEQ score was positively correlated with the EAT-26 total score as well as SATAQ-3 ‘Pressures’ and ‘Information’ subscales. In addition, the EAT-26 total score was positively correlated with the SATAQ-3 ‘Pressures’ and ‘Information’ subscales. Externalized sociocultural attitudes towards appearance served as a mediator between obligatory exercise behavior and eating attitudes, and the mediation effect accounted for 56.82% of the total effect. Obligatory exercise behavior may have an indirect effect on eating attitudes through sociocultural attitudes towards appearance. Given the sociocultural information and pressures, in order to maintain or pursue an ideal appearance, many people tend to keep a pathological diet. Thus, forming a positive and healthy social aesthetic orientation is beneficial in helping obligatory exercisers to develop reasonable eating habits.

Objective: Body-image disturbance and eating disorders are significant physical and mental health problems in China. Attitudes toward the body are thought to work in conjunction with other established risk factors for dietary pathology, which include body dissatisfaction, dieting, and negative effects. Negative appearance evaluation may be valuable for extending our understanding of measuring factors and potential causal relationships associated with body image and eating problems. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between negative appearance evaluation and a combination of eating attitudes and sociocultural attitudes toward appearance and the mediating effect of negative appearance evaluation on the relationship between eating attitudes and sociocultural attitudes toward appearance.Methods: We invited 339 Chinese adults to undergo the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Fear of Negative Appearance Evaluation Scale (FNAES), and the Sociocultural Attitudes toward Appearance (SATAQ-3) scale, and used AMOS 24.0 for model construction and mediating effects testing.Results: There was a significant positive correlation between EAT-26 scores and FNAES (p < 0.001) and SATAQ-3 scores (p < 0.001), and all dimensions except internalization general were significantly positively correlated (p < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between FNAES and SATAQ-3 scores for all dimensions (p < 0. 01). There was no significant direct effect of eating attitude on sociocultural attitude toward appearance; however, there was a significant mediating effect of fear of negative appearance evaluation.Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that negative appearance evaluation fully mediates the relationship between eating attitudes and sociocultural attitudes toward appearance. An individual’s attitude toward eating affects negative body perceptions and thus their perception of their own body shape. Our exploration of the specific effects of eating attitudes on body perception provides a psychological basis for guidance and developing interventions regarding attitudes toward the body.

Background/Objectives: The mechanisms linking eating attitudes to well-being and physical activity objectives have increasingly attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. This research is particularly significant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has profoundly disrupted eating habits, exercise routines, and psychosocial well-being across the globe. Additionally, these variables are influenced by cultural dimensions, such as individualism in Poland and collectivism in China. These two countries represent distinct approaches to social health and well-being during the pandemic, offering valuable comparative insights into how cultural contexts shape mental and physical health behaviors; Methods: The study included 644 Polish and 690 Chinese participants. It utilized the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS), the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and the Inventory of Physical Activity Objectives (IPAO); Results: The results indicate that both COVID-19 anxiety and eating attitudes fully mediate the relationship between well-being and physical activity objectives. Full mediation implies that the observed relationship between well-being and physical activity objectives operates entirely through the mediators. Notably, the mediating effect of COVID-19 anxiety was observed only in the Chinese sample, highlighting cultural differences in coping mechanisms and societal responses to anxiety. Cultural differences significantly influenced well-being and physical activity objectives, while eating disorders remained unaffected by cultural and social differences. Additionally, a significant positive correlation was found between COVID-19 anxiety, eating attitudes, and health-related physical activity objectives, underscoring the interplay between mental health and physical activity; Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of addressing anxiety and eating attitudes to enhance well-being and physical activity behaviors. The study provides a strong theoretical basis for targeted interventions tailored to cultural contexts. Potential limitations include the reliance on self-reported data and differences in demographic characteristics between the Polish and Chinese samples, which may affect generalizability.

Introduction: This study explores the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between physical activity and psychological well-being within educational settings. Methods: Drawing on data from 620 Chinese university students and educators, we investigated the parallel and sequential mediating roles of academic anxiety and perceived social support. Results: Using validated self-report instruments and structural equation modeling, results indicated that physical activity significantly reduced academic anxiety and enhanced perceived social support, both of which, in turn, improved psychological well-being. Discussion: Notably, both a parallel mediation model and a chain mediation model were supported, indicating that academic anxiety and social support functioned not only independently as mediators but also sequentially, where reduced anxiety facilitated increased social support. Subgroup analysis revealed stronger mediation effects among participants with higher levels of physical activity, suggesting a dose–response relationship. These findings advance theoretical models in health and organizational psychology, providing practical guidance for designing interventions that promote sustainable mental health through physical activity and social support networks in academic communities.