Dataset Information

Body image and compulsive exercise: are there associations with depression among university students?

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Mental health problems among university students have been reported to be significantly increasing and suggested to be associated with college drop-out. Body dissatisfaction and compulsive exercise are both constructs relevant for mental health problems in general and eating disorders in particular. This study examined associations between body dissatisfaction, compulsive exercise and self-reported symptoms of depression among Swedish university students.

Methods

Participants (n = 4262) are students in an ongoing cohort study, and data from the baseline assessment were used. Four linear regression models were built to explore the associations between body dissatisfaction, compulsive weight control exercise and depressive symptoms.

Results

Our findings showed that females reported higher levels of body dissatisfaction than males. Body dissatisfaction and compulsive exercise were associated with self-reported symptoms of depression in this non-clinical population. Results showed that compulsive exercise was negatively associated with reported symptoms of depression, while body dissatisfaction was positively associated with symptoms of depression.

Conclusion

In line with previous research, there was a gender difference in body dissatisfaction where females displayed higher levels of dissatisfaction than males. Body dissatisfaction was positively associated with reported symptoms of depression, suggesting support of previous research indicating body dissatisfaction to increase mental health problems. Compulsive exercise was negatively associated with symptoms of depression suggesting a behavior negatively reinforced, supporting both constructs to be of interest for reported symptoms of depression in a non-clinical population of Swedish university students.

Level of evidence

III, cohort study.

Trial registration

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ID : NCT04465435.

SUBMITTER: Edlund K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9556381 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Body image and compulsive exercise: are there associations with depression among university students?

Edlund Klara K Johansson Fred F Lindroth Rebecca R Bergman Louise L Sundberg Tobias T Skillgate Eva E

Eating and weight disorders : EWD 20220218 7

<h4>Purpose</h4>Mental health problems among university students have been reported to be significantly increasing and suggested to be associated with college drop-out. Body dissatisfaction and compulsive exercise are both constructs relevant for mental health problems in general and eating disorders in particular. This study examined associations between body dissatisfaction, compulsive exercise and self-reported symptoms of depression among Swedish university students.<h4>Methods</h4>Participa ...[more]

PMID: 35179726

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Project description:BackgroundBody image is considered a core issue for public health and associates with university students' overall health. Due to positive associations between exercise and body image, it has been suggested that students within an exercise science program might be more body appreciative compared to other students. On the other hand, the strong societal idealization of the athletic body may expose them to a pressure of having a specific body appearance, which may result in unfavorable health consequences. Nevertheless, studies investigating these hypotheses are lacking. We therefore aimed to explore the level and associations of body appreciation, body appearance pressure, body image related mental health constructs, physical activity, and exercise, in Norwegian university exercise science and non-health reference students.MethodMale and female exercise science students (n = 517) and reference students (n = 476), from nine large universities in Norway took part in this cross-sectional study. Participants responded to the Body appreciation scale-2, a self-developed questionnaire on body appearance pressure, Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised, Sociocultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire-4R, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and questions about physical activity and exercise. Between group differences were analyzed using student independent t-test and ANCOVA for parametric data and Chi-square test for categorical data, and associations were evaluated by Person's correlation. P-values ≤0.05 were defined as significant.ResultsFemale exercise science students had higher scores on body appreciation compared to reference students. No group difference was found in males. A high percentage of students reported experiencing body appearance pressure, with 69 and 85% among male and female exercise science students, and 57 and 83% among male and female reference students. Fitness centers were the settings where most respondents experienced body appearance pressure. Body appreciation was strongly associated with favorable scores on body image related mental health constructs, while personally experienced body appearance pressure associated with destructive scores on the same constructs.ConclusionBody appearance pressure is an issue among university students regardless of study program. Actions to promote body appreciation and prevent body appearance pressure may include an implementation of media literacy, body functionality, and exercise as topics within the education program to safeguard students' health and well-being.Clinical trial registryNo. NCT04256967 .

Project description:BackgroundPhysical inactivity and chronic pain are both major public health concerns worldwide. Although the health benefits of regular physical exercise are well-documented, few large epidemiological studies have investigated the association between specific domains of physical exercise and chronic pain in young adults. We sought to investigate the association between frequency, intensity and duration of physical exercise, and chronic pain.MethodsData stem from the SHoT2018-study, a national health survey for higher education in Norway, in which 36,625 fulltime students aged 18-35 years completed all relevant questionnaires. Chronic pain, defined according to the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11), was assessed with a newly developed hierarchical digital instrument for reporting both distribution and characteristics of pain in predefined body regions. Physical exercise was assessed using three sets of questions, measuring the number of times exercising each week, and the average intensity and the number of hours each time.ResultsThe majority (54%) of the students reported chronic pain in at least one location, and the prevalence was especially high among women. The overall pattern was an inverse dose-response association between exercise and chronic pain: the more frequent, harder or longer the physical exercise, the lower the risk of chronic pain. Similar findings were generally also observed for the number of pain locations: frequent exercise was associated with fewer pain locations. Adjusting for demographical, lifestyle factors and depression had little effect on the magnitude of the associations.ConclusionGiven the many health benefits of regular exercise, there is much to be gained in facilitating college and university students to be more physically active, ideally, thru a joint responsibility between political and educational institutions. Due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, one should be careful to draw a firm conclusion about the direction of causality.

Dataset Information

Body image and compulsive exercise: are there associations with depression among university students?

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Level of evidence

Trial registration

Publications

Body image and compulsive exercise: are there associations with depression among university students?

Similar Datasets

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