Objective: This study examined college students’ perceptions of how parents, family, friends, significant others, and the media influenced eating and exercise behaviors and weight perceptions. Participants: Forty-one college students, mostly female, participated in interviews. Methods: A Grounded Theory approach, using open coding and memoing, was used to uncover key themes. Results: Healthy cooking and exercise role models at home were viewed as positive, encouraging healthy eating and exercise. Criticism was perceived as negative for healthy habits and weight perceptions. Friends and significant others who practiced positive health habits and were body accepting were uplifting. Cultural transmission of the thin ideal could occur through the media. Some noted that media messages were becoming more positive. Conclusions: Using peers, especially friends, as collaborators in interventions, and discussing parental influences on eating, exercise, and weight perceptions may positively impact obesity prevention programs and interventions for college students.

This study reviewed research to identify interventions aimed at improving asthma management among children by educating parents and other professionals.PubMed, Medline, and Embase databases were ut...

Purpose: This study examined nativity differences in social and structural correlates of single and polytobacco product use among United States (U.S.) Black young adults (YA). Design: Online cross-sectional study. Setting: United States. Sample: U.S.-born and foreign-born Black YA ages 18-25 years (N = 484) living in the U.S. Measures: Self-reported past 30-day tobacco product use, safety concerns, and food and housing insecurity measured with the Accountable Health Communities Health-Related Social Needs Screening Tool; experience of racist events measured with the schedule of racist events scale. Analysis: Stratified adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted. Separate models were constructed for overall sample, U.S.-born YA, and foreign-born YA. All models adjusted for demographic characteristics. Models for foreign-born YA adjusted for length of stay in the U.S. Results: Overall, 18.8% (CI = 15.6-22.5) and 17.4% (CI = 14.2-21.0) of participants reported single tobacco use and polytobacco use respectively. Among foreign-born participants, exposure to racist events (aOR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.02-1.11) and housing insecurity (aOR = 1.95, 95%CI = 1.05-3.63) were associated with higher odds of polytobacco use. Among U.S.-born participants, exposure to racist events (aOR = 1.02, 95%CI = 1.001-1.05) and safety concerns (aOR = 3.19, 95%CI = 1.51-6.73) were associated with higher odds of polytobacco use. Conclusion: Experience of racist events was associated with polytobacco use among both U.S.-born and foreign-born Black YA. However, different structural determinants were associated with polytobacco use among both groups. Results suggest need for tailored tobacco prevention efforts among Black young adults in the U.S.

Background: College students’ well-being is a critical determinant of academic success, and for Native American students, cultural strengths, resilience, and community support are key in fostering persistence in higher education. Alongside these assets, health behaviors are key contributors to psychological well-being (PWB) and academic performance. This study examined how modifiable health behaviors, such as physical activity (PA) and sleep duration, relate to PWB and academic performance among Native American college students. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted using a nationally representative sample of Native Americans (N = 1914) from the Spring 2023 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) survey. Independent variables include meeting PA guidelines (≥150 min moderate or ≥75 min vigorous/week) and sleep duration (categorized as poor or good). The Diener Flourishing Scale measured PWB. Academic performance was measured based on self-reported cumulative grade averages. Findings: Biological sex and PA were significantly associated, χ² = 40.60, p < 0.001, with a higher proportion of males meeting PA guidelines. Students with good sleep reported higher PWB than others, F(1, 1817) = 62.08, p < 0.001. Similarly, students who met PA guidelines reported higher PWB, F(1, 1817) = 35.71, p < 0.001. Poor sleep was associated with lower odds of higher academic performance (B = −0.33, p < 0.001). Contrarily, PA was not significant (p = 0.350). PWB was positively associated with academic performance (B = 0.031, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Sleep and PWB are key factors associated with both PWB and academic performance, while PA is associated with PWB. These findings highlight the importance of relevant interventions that promote these factors to support overall well-being, academic success, and retention among Native American college students.