Physical activity, problematic smartphone use, and burnout among Chinese college students

Takeaway food consumption and depressive symptoms in Chinese university students: mediating effects of physical activity

Background

The consumption of takeaways is becoming increasingly prevalent. Despite this, the relationship between takeaway food consumption and depressive symptoms in Chinese populations has not been clarified. Furthermore, the factors that mediate the association between takeaway frequency and depressive symptoms are unknown.

Methods

Questionnaires were employed to collect data from 6,417 new students at Chongqing Medical University in the autumn of 2023, including sociodemographic information, takeaway frequency, physical activity levels (measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form), and depressive symptoms (measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Multiple linear regression and mediation analysis were performed. Multiple imputations were used to fill in missing data through sensitivity analyses.

Results

Among 6417 participants, 2,606 (40.6%) students ordered takeaway at least once a week, with 235 (3.7%) of them ordering takeaway food every day. Takeaway frequency was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (β=0.034, P=0.006), and physical activity partially mediated this relationship (95% bootstrap confidence interval=0.0024, 0.0371).

Conclusions

The study highlights the negative relationship between takeaway frequency and emotional well-being, emphasizing the need to focus on the emotional health of frequent takeaway food consumers. Moreover, our study suggests that increased physical activity may alleviate takeaway-induced mood-related outcomes.

The relationship between physical exercise and problematic internet use in college students: the chain-mediated role of self-control and loneliness

OBJECTIVE

From the perspective of exercise psychology, to investigate the antefacts of problematic internet use (PIU) in college students, and to reveal the chain mediating effect of self-control and loneliness between physical exercise and PIU.

METHODS

1081 college students in Chongqing, China were investigated by Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), Self-control Scale (SCS), Loneliness Scale (UCLA), and Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R), and the data were statistically analyzed by SPSS25.0 and AMOS21.0 software.

RESULTS

(1) There was a significant negative correlation between physical exercise and PIU, and the former has a direct negative predictive effect on the latter. (2) Physical exercise could indirectly influence the PIU of college students through the partial mediating effect of self-control and loneliness, respectively. (3) Physical exercise could also indirectly influence PIU through the chain mediation of "self-control → loneliness".

CONCLUSION

Maintaining regular physical exercise can promote the improvement of self-control and the weakening of the loneliness experience of college students, and then help to prevent or alleviate PIU behavior, which is of great significance for psychological and behavioral health.

Validation of the Chinese version of the Smartphone Distraction Scale

The Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS) is a novel assessment scale for smartphone distraction; it comprises 16 items that cover attention impulsiveness, online vigilance, multitasking, and emotion regulation. This study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the SDS in college students in China. After translating and culturally adapting the original version of the SDS into Chinese, the scale was tested on a sample of 1302 college students.The validity and reliability were assessed utilizing SPSS 25.0, AMOS 25.0 and Mplus 8.3. Parallel analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed for the validity analysis. Criterion-related validity for the SDS was tested by correlation analysis with the mobile phone addiction scale (MPAI). The reliability analysis was tested by Cronbach's alpha coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). EFA and parallel analysis revealed a three-factor structure. The EFA identified factor loadings on three factors (14 items), explaining a total variance of 60.73 %. The CFA model fit was good (χ2/df = 4.644, RMSEA = 0.047, GFI = 0.930, CFI = 0.955, SRMR = 0.047), and the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis indicated measurement invariance for gender. Both convergent and discriminant validity were established. The criterion-related validity was established based on a significant correlation (r = 0.758) with the MPAI. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.916, and the split-half reliability was 0.769, demonstrating a satisfactory internal consistency. The score of ICC was 0.907, demonstrating the stability of the SDS. Based on these data, the Chinese version of the SDS demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability in a sample of college students.

Could physical activity alleviate smartphone addiction in university students? A systematic literature review

Objectives

Recently, the widespread surge in smartphone addiction (SA) has raised major global health concerns and prompted researchers to scrutinize the inverse relationship between physical activity (PA) and the risk of SA. This systematic literature review aims to synthesize the empirical research on the relationship between PA and SA among university students representing the most affected age group.

Methods

Adopting the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, we explored five databases: PubMed, Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), Oxford Research Archive, Journal Storage (JSTOR), and Google Scholar. We used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tools (MMAT) for quality assessment.

Results

Thirty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-eight of them were cross-sectional, and three were experimental. The 31 studies emerged from 12 countries, most stemming (45.16%) from China. Their findings suggest an inverse relationship between PA and SA in the examined population. However, the direct relationship may be weak based on correlational studies, while intervention research yields noteworthy effects. Still, other factors like resilience may mediate the studied relationship. Methodological concerns render the results of correlational studies tentative.

Conclusions

Regular PA could be a promising preventive measure for SA. Future work should use objective PA indices in longitudinal research designs while assessing the type and duration of smartphone applications used via device meters. In correlational studies, interviews should follow up on the high SA risk or too much device use. In conclusion, moderate evidence indicates that PA can reduce SA among university students.

Association among physical activity, anxiety and oral health status in Chinese university students: A cross-sectional study

Background

Evidence is limited regarding the relationship among physical activity, anxiety, and oral health in Chinese university students. This cross-sectional investigation aimed to assess the potential relationship between physical activity, anxiety, and oral health conditions among university students in China.

Methods

An online questionnaire measuring physical activity, anxiety status, and oral health condition was completed by 1604 university students. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were selected to evaluate physical activity and anxiety, respectively. Oral health condition was assessed through several self-reported variables, including self-reported toothache, gingival bleeding, frequency of tooth brushing, and use of dental floss. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to analyze the underlying relationship between outcome variables. The control variables included age, height, weight, gender, whether only one-child, education level, parental education level, smoking status, drinking habits, and length of sleep. Path analysis was conducted to disentangle the association between physical activity, anxiety, and oral health conditions.

Results

Among 1604 university students, 666 (41.5 %) were males and 938 (58.5 %) were females, with an average of 21.9 ± 2.8 years. Only 833 (51.9 %) reported sufficient physical activity, while 684 (42.6 %) of the subjects displayed varying degrees of anxiety. Self-reported gingival bleeding was associated with insufficient physical activity (OR = 1.25; 95%CI: 1.02-1.55), anxiety (OR = 0.45; 95%CI: 0.27-0.74), frequency of tooth brushing (OR = 0.75; 95%CI: 0.60-0.95) and use of dental floss (OR = 0.75; 95%CI: 0.59-0.96), while toothache was not directly influenced by the physical activity and anxiety among university students. Anxiety markedly mediated the relationship between physical activity and oral health conditions.

Conclusions

Anxiety was considered a factor associated with the level of physical activity, tooth brushing habits, and self-reported gingival bleeding among university students. Further investigations are required to elucidate whether oral health conditions could be enhanced through the improvement of anxiety and physical activity.