Characterising the activity, lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes of UK university students: an observational cohort study with a focus on gender and ethnicity

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Savage, MJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2922-3681, Procter, EL, Magistro, D ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2554-3701, Hennis, PJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8216-998X, Donaldson, J, Leslie-Walker, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8521-5910, Jones, BA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8872-5847 and James, RM, 2024. Characterising the activity, lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes of UK university students: an observational cohort study with a focus on gender and ethnicity. BMC Public Health, 24: 3501. ISSN 1471-2458

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20911-0

Abstract

Background
Health-related outcomes and behaviours in university students are known to be poor relative to the general population. The substantial contextual shifts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with increased numbers of students from minoritised ethnicity backgrounds and presenting as trans and gender diverse (TGD), means that up-to-date information is unavailable. The primary aim of this study was therefore to characterise the current movement, dietary and lifestyle behaviours, mental health, and Body Mass Index (BMI) of UK university students and assess differences between genders and ethnic groups.

Methods
An online, self-report survey was administered across three years (2021–2023). Three independent cohorts of university students’ (n = 6,327) completed the survey on four key topic areas. One-way ANOVAs were used to assess differences between genders (men, women, TGD), and independent samples t-tests were used to assess differences between ethnic groups (White, Minoritised Ethnicity).

Results
30% of students were not meeting physical activity guidelines, 54% were sedentary for ≥ 6 h·d− 1, 83% had poor diet quality, 51% were in high or increased risk groups for alcohol consumption, 18% experienced terrible or poor sleep quality, and 32% were overweight or obese. Gender differences were present for all variables other than walking physical activity (WPA) (P < 0.05), with men having better mental health and engaging in healthier movement and sleeping behaviours, whereas women had more healthful dietary and drinking behaviours, and TGD students had poorer outcomes compared to cis-gender students in most domains. Differences between White and minoritised ethnicity students were present for all variables other than sedentary behaviour, diet quality, WPA and BMI (P < 0.05); students of minoritised ethnicity engaged in better movement, drinking and sleep behaviours in addition to having more positive mental health than White students.

Conclusion
The findings of the current study provide an update on the landscape of UK university students’ health and health-related behaviours. Overall, health-related outcomes and behaviours are poor in this population and these data suggest that gender and ethnicity play a role in determining students’ health and health-related behaviours. Therefore, these factors should be considered when developing strategies to promote healthy living in the context of higher education.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	BMC Public Health
Creators:	Savage, M.J., Procter, E.L., Magistro, D., Hennis, P.J., Donaldson, J., Leslie-Walker, A., Jones, B.A. and James, R.M.
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date:	2024
Volume:	24
ISSN:	1471-2458
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1186/s12889-024-20911-0 DOI 2330407 Other
Rights:	© The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Melissa Cornwell
Date Added:	06 Jan 2025 09:43
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2025 09:43
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52760