Relationship between Academic Stress, Physical Activity and Diet in University Students of Education

Abstract

(1) Background: Several research works have shown the relationship between physical activity (PA), adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and health. Nevertheless, there are few studies that demonstrate the relationship of these habits with academic performance, and specifically with academic stress. (2) Methods: This descriptive, non-experimental, and cross-sectional study aims to analyse the associations between these variables in a sample composed of 515 university students, using as main instruments the KIDMED, PAQ-A and the Scale of Academic Stress. (3) Results: The university students analysed showed higher levels of academic stress for women, and especially in the academic obligations and communication of own ideas. In addition, it was shown that those university students that had a body mass index (BMI) associated with being overweight or under-weight were the respondents with higher levels of stress. Finally, the students with a low adherence to MD had higher scores for stress associated with the communication of their own ideas, while PA was not related to academic stress. When sex and BMI variables were controlled in the regression model, no associations were obtained between stress and diet quality. (4) Conclusions: This study shows interesting implications in the treatment of academic stress. Although stress was not associated with diet and physical activity, it was linked to a worse state of health associated with states of being overweight, being of special interest the treatment of stress in women.

Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Educational Achievement and Academic Stress of Pre-Service Teachers

“…In terms of academic stress, we found higher scores for females over males, consistently with other studies [58,59]. In our case, statistically significant differences were found in favor of females in the symptoms and stressors dimensions and slightly in favor of males in the coping strategies.…”

Relationship between Diet, Menstrual Pain and other Menstrual Characteristics among Spanish Students

“…However, it was also used to evaluate diet in women over 24 years of age (8.7% of the sample). Nonetheless, we were able to find other studies which also employed this scale among university students [ 53 , 54 ]. The findings of the present study open a new line of research on the possible influence of the MD and the consumption of foods that are typical of certain regions, in relation to menstrual characteristics.…”

Evaluating Mediterranean diet adherence in university student populations: Does this dietary pattern affect students' academic performance and mental health?

“…Chacon‐Cuberos et al conducted a series of descriptive and cross‐sectional studies. Concerning stress and MD, students with a low MD adherence had higher stress scores concerning the communication of their ideas, in univariate, but not multivariate analysis . On a sample of 775 physical education students, adherence to MD showed a positive association with PA and self‐concept, while it was negative for the consumption of tobacco in men …”