Health behavior of Austrian tertiary students focusing on diet type linked to sports and exercise-first glimpse of results from the "sustainably healthy-from science 2 high school and university" study

There is a strong association between lifestyle behavior and health status. While young adulthood is a critical period for adopting and stabilizing lifelong healthy behavior, university life is independently associated with psychological stressors that may further affect health and well-being. The p...

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Published in:Frontiers in public health 2023-07, Vol.11, p.1129004-1129004
Main Authors: Wirnitzer, Katharina C, Motevalli, Mohamad, Cocca, Armando, Tanous, Derrick R, Wirnitzer, Gerold, Wagner, Karl-Heinz, Schätzer, Manuel, Drenowatz, Clemens, Ruedl, Gerhard, Kirschner, Werner
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Austria - epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diet, Vegetarian
Exercise
Female
Health Behavior
Health Status
Humans
Male
obesity
physical activity
plant-based
Public Health
Students
Universities
vegan
vegetarian
Young Adult
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Summary:There is a strong association between lifestyle behavior and health status. While young adulthood is a critical period for adopting and stabilizing lifelong healthy behavior, university life is independently associated with psychological stressors that may further affect health and well-being. The present multidisciplinary study aimed to examine the health behavior of Austrian college and university students, differentiated based on diet types (vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous) and physical activity (PA) habits. Following a cross-sectional study design, a total number of 6,148 students (65.3% females; 66.1% bachelor students, 67.0% from urban areas; mean age: 24.8 years) from 52 Austrian college/universities participated in an online survey and provided data on sociodemographic characteristics, dietary patterns, PA habits, and other lifestyle behavior characteristics, including alcohol intake and smoking. Across the total sample, 74.0% had a normal weight (BMI = 18.5-25.0 kg/m ), while the prevalence of overweight/obesity (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m ) was lower in females than males and more in rural than urban students (  
ISSN:2296-2565
2296-2565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1129004