Background: With an increasing incidence of obesity, the relationship between obesity and body image has become a hot research topic worldwide. From high school to university, young people experience changes in their social environment. University students have a high incidence of eating disorders and insufficient physical activity. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between body dissatisfaction, insufficient physical activity, and disordered eating behaviors among university students in southern China.Methods: In total, 1296 university students aged 18–23 years were recruited for this study. The participants completed anthropometric measurements, the Physical Activity Rating scale-3 (PARS-3), and the Chinese-Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (C-DEBQ). The ideal weight and silhouette were reported by university students using a questionnaire.Results: Compared with men, young women had a higher level of body dissatisfaction. For men, body mass index (BMI; β = 0.76,P < 0.01), physical activity score (β = − 0.11,P < 0.01), and restrained eating score (β = 0.10,P < 0.01) were the significant factors predictive of body dissatisfaction. For women, BMI (β = 0.57,P < 0.01), muscle mass (β = 0.12,P < 0.01), physical activity score (β = − 0.11,P < 0.01), and restrained eating score (β = 0.09,P < 0.01) were the significant factors predictive of body dissatisfaction.Conclusions: University students with high body dissatisfaction had lower physical activity scores and higher restrained eating scores. The data presented here highlight the impact of university students’ body dissatisfaction on physical activity deficiency and disordered eating behaviors in China.

Background: In recent years, obesity in early adulthood has become an urgent global public health concern. Body dissatisfaction may have adverse effects on lifestyle habits, leading to obesity. However, research on nutritional status and body dissatisfaction among Chinese young adults is still insufficient. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between body dissatisfaction, dietary habits, physical activity, and nutritional status among university students. In addition, we explored the feasibility of improving university students’ nutritional status by improving the levels of body dissatisfaction. Methods: This study was conducted in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China, at a randomly selected university. All 1900 undergraduate students volunteered to participate and signed the consent form. Students were required to completed anthropometric measurements and three questionnaires, which included the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3), Chinese version of the Dutch Dietary Behavior Questionnaire (C-DEBQ), and Body Dissatisfaction. Of these, 1714 students (age: 18–24 years; men: 933, women: 781) with complete and valid data were included. Results: Higher obesity levels were observed in men compared to women (p<0.01). Meanwhile, body dissatisfaction was higher in women compared to men (p<0.01). Overeating and insufficient physical activity were more problematic in women compared to in men (p<0.01). Multiple regression analyses were conducted separately, with BMI and body dissatisfaction as the dependent variables. Body dissatisfaction (β=0.72, p<0.01), muscle mass (β=0.33, p<0.01), emotional eating score (β=0.05, p<0.01), sex (β=-0.05, p<0.05) and physical activity (β=-0.04, p<0.05) score were significant predictors of obesity. Furthermore, Muscle mass (β=0.61, p<0.01), sex (β=0.54, p<0.01), restrained eating score (β=0.25, p<0.01), physical activity score (β=-0.20, p<0.01) and emotional eating score (β=0.08, p<0.01) were significant predictors of body dissatisfaction. Conclusion: The data presented in this study highlight the impact of university students’ body dissatisfaction in China on physical activity deficiency and overeating, discovering that reducing body dissatisfaction has great potential for preventing obesity.

Colleges and universities are currently facing the major public health issue of poor sleep quality. Sleep quality must be taken seriously to maintain the students’ emotional and physical well-being. Thus, this study sought to determine how university students’ levels of physical activity related to the quality of their sleep, as well as to explore the mechanisms via which physical activity affects sleep and provide suggestions for improving it. A total of 883 university students from Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China participated in the study. Their physical activity, sleep quality, ruminative thinking levels, and depression were assessed using various questionnaires. Through the mediating effects of rumination and depression as well as the chain-mediated effects of these two factors, physical exercise changed the quality of sleep. University students’ sleep quality can be improved by increasing their physical activity and decreasing ruminative thinking and depression levels.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether an exercise intervention, nutrition education, or the combination of both were effective in weight reduction and maintenance for rural school children. Two hundred twenty-nine primary school children aged 9 to 12 years determined as overweight/obese were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: exercise intervention, nutrition education, combination of both, and control. Nutrition education and rope-skipping sessions were performed for 2 months. Anthropometric measurements were administered at baseline, after 2 months (postintervention), and 1 year later (follow-up). The order of change from high to low in the body mass index standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) between postintervention and baseline was combined intervention, exercise intervention, and nutrition education. The BMI-SDS between following-up and baseline was for combined intervention, exercise intervention, and nutrition education. The combined intervention had the best short-term and long-term effects. The exercise intervention had a better short-term effect than nutrition education, while nutrition education had a better long-term effect than the exercise intervention.

Background: In recent years, depression in early adulthood has become an urgent global public health concern. The university years mark a transitional period from adolescence to adulthood. Young people are required to face academic and life pressures independently, which increases the risk of mental health problems in university.Purpose: The main goal of the current study was to explore the sex differences in depression, body dissatisfaction, sleep quality, and exercise intensity among university students in southern China and to analyze the factors affecting the level of depression among university students.Methods: In total, 1,258 university students aged 18–23 years were recruited for this study. All participants completed anthropometric measurements, the Self-rating Depression Scale, Physical Activity Rating Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Body dissatisfaction levels were measured using sex-appropriate silhouettes.Results: Compared with young women, young men had higher exercise intensity and sleep quality, whereas young women’s body dissatisfaction and depression levels were significantly higher than those of young men. Sleep quality score (β = 0.34, p < 0.01), sex (β = 0.15, p < 0.01), physical activity score (β = −0.14, p < 0.01), and body dissatisfaction (β = 0.14, p < 0.01) were significant predictive factors of the Self-rating Depression Scale score.Conclusion: Low levels of physical dissatisfaction have a positive effect on depression, and high levels of physical activity and quality sleep can also improve depressive symptoms. At the same time, increasing body satisfaction has the effect of increasing physical activity and improving sleep quality. Therefore, there is great potential to prevent and ameliorate depression by reducing body dissatisfaction.

Introduction: The novel coronavirus disease of 2019 has impacted people’s lives greatly. The spread of the pandemic has restricted many everyday social lives. Some studies have shown that strict risk control during the pandemic threatens people’s mental health and eating habits. University students vulnerable to mental health problems may have more prominent mental health and eating disorders during the pandemic. This study aims to elucidate the relationship between body dissatisfaction, depression, body mass index, and emotional eating among university students in the context of the pandemic in southern China. It provides a theoretical basis for developing future approaches to improve depression and emotional eating among university students.Methods: A total of 1,135 university students were recruited for the study. All participants completed anthropometric, body dissatisfaction, eating behavior, and depression level surveys.Results: The study finds that female students have higher levels of body dissatisfaction, depression, and emotional eating than male students. University students in the high body dissatisfaction group had higher levels of depression. Depression level (β = 0.33, p < 0.01), body dissatisfaction (β = 0.22, p < 0.01), sex (β = 0.16, p < 0.01), and income (β = 0.06, p < 0.01) were significant predictors of emotional eating. Fundamentally, this study highlights the impact of body dissatisfaction on depression and emotional eating.Discussion: The potential to improve depression and emotional eating among university students by improving their levels of body dissatisfaction was demonstrated.