The Role of Healthy Lifestyle Choices on College Students

Amy Teresa and Matea Mamic Statistics and Research Methods 3050

Advisor: Dr. Spinetta

Individual choicesstudents make

regarding diet and how often they

exercise.

Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Affected by stress, athletic involvement,

and whether or not they are an international

student.

Stress

The degree to which college

students perceive their

lives as stressful.

This includes athletic

involvement and adapting

to a new environment.

Self-Esteem

Feeling of self-worth that

includes positive and negative

feelings towards oneself.

This includes athletic

involvement and adapting to a

new environment.

Previous Research

There is strong evidence that healthy living has benefits for physical and psychological functioning. (Allen, Vella & Laborde, 2015.)

Less – frequent exercise was associated with more negative health symptoms and poorer functional health. (Weatherill, Krill, Orazem & Taft, 2013.)

Superior nutrition knowledge…driven by the pressure to exhaust opportunities to excel at highest sports levels.(Spendlove et al. 2012)

Emotions are experienced physically as well as mentally.(Houghton et al. 2012)

Why is it Important?

The majority of literature that we found did not focused on non athletes/ non international students.

Healthy lifestyle choices are important for personal health and well being.

Our Hypotheses

• Hypothesis:

Healthy lifestyle choices

Athletic involvement Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Non Athletic involvement Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Stress

Athletic involvement Stress

Non Athletic involvement Stress

Participants

99 Participants• 31 online• 70 in person

Gender (self-identified)• Female 51%• Males 44%• Transgender 1%• Non-binary 1%• Other 2%

Our MethodsShort survey asking participants about:• Healthy Lifestyle Choices Scale• Rosenberg Self – Esteem Scale • Cohens Perceived Stress Scale • Qualitative component (which is important when talking about

healthy lifestyle choices of athletes)

How often do you exercise?r I exercise 0-2 times per week r I exercise 3-4 times per week r I exercise 5 or more times per week At what level of intensity do you exercise?r Light r Moderate r Heavy What type of exercise do you usually do?r Cross-training r Aerobic r Strength-training r Competitive Sports r Combination r Other write in __________How do you feel about your body?r I feel confident with how my body looks r I feel somewhat confident with how my body looks r I don’t feel confident with how my body looks

Results

 

 

# Of Students

Often Exercise

Healthy Lifestyle Scale

RSEsum PSSsum

International/ Athlete 20 3 ± 0 30.35 ± 2.87 16.8 ± 1.99 17.6 ± 6.42

International/ not an Athlete

9 1.11 ± .33 25 ± 4.18 14.56 ± 2.92 20.78 ± 4.90

Not International/ Athlete 25 2.88 ± .33 29.36 ± 2.72 15.6 ± 1.82 16.24 ± 5.46

Not International/ Not Athlete

45 1.8 ± .63 25.87 ± 4.90 14.51 ± 1.53 19.53 ± 6.03

Table 1. Number of individuals sampled and their scores based on the dependent variables exercise frequency, healthy lifestyle, self-esteem, and stress.

RSEsum = Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale PSSsum = Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale

Results

Athlete Not an Athlete15

15.5

16

16.5

17

17.5

18

18.5

19

19.5

20

Students

Mea

n St

ress

± S

EM

*

Figure 1. Athletic involvement has a significant effect on stress t (97) = -2.450, p < .016.

Large effect size, Cohen’s d = 3.465.

Results

Athletic involvement has a significant effect on body confidence t (89.808) = -2.890, p < .005.

Large effect size, Cohen’s d = 4.087.

*

Non Athl Athlete0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

College Students

Bod

y C

onfid

ence

Mea

n

*

Qualitative Results

Student–Athletes at Seattle University reported the following as the main factors for healthy lifestyle choices

Athletes reported factors on why they have healthy eating habits:

• Better athletic performance: 22%• Prevent injuries: 26%• Improved sleep: 24%• Nutritionist: 13%

Future Research• These questions should be further investigated with larger sample

sizes of athletes and international students.

• Further explore factors that influence healthy lifestyle choices of athletes and non–athletes.

• The impact of sports–specific nutrition was not adequately assessed.

• Wider representation of sports–specific factors needed, such as: team, team sports, individual sports, etc.

Questions?

Thank You !!!