Negative fat talk and sleep quality among Chinese college students: associations involving wellbeing and loneliness.
- 1School of Public Health and Health Management, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou City, China.
Abstract
This study examined the relationship between negative fat talk and poor sleep quality in Chinese college students, and tested the roles of wellbeing and loneliness in this association. A cross-sectional survey included 2,056 students in Jiangxi Province, China. Negative fat talk, wellbeing, loneliness, physical activity, and sleep quality were assessed with the BTS, WHO-5, ULS-8, PARS-3, and PSQI, respectively. The additional observed-score analyses included 1,970 participants with observed PSQI total scores. The original latent-variable parallel mediation model was retained; a fully adjusted observed-score model was added. The original classification recorded 984 students (47.9% of the study sample) with poor sleep quality. In the original sex-adjusted regression, negative fat talk was associated with higher PSQI scores (standardized β = 0.060, p = 0.003). In the additional fully adjusted regression, its unstandardized coefficient was 0.046 (95%CI 0.016-0.076; p = 0.003). The original structural model reported an overall indirect association of 0.223, with specific associations of 0.118 through wellbeing and 0.105 through loneliness. Negative fat talk was associated with poorer self-reported sleep quality. The parallel indirect paths describe cross-sectional statistical associations.
Related
- Psychometric evaluation of the persian version of the Social Self-Compassion Scale (SSCS): associations with Perceived Social Self-Efficacy, fear of negative evaluation, and loneliness among female undergraduate students.
- Physical Exercise and Mobile Social Media Dependence Among University Students: Exploratory Conditional-Process Patterns Involving Loneliness and Self-Control.
- Flourishing in university students: cross-sectional associations with personal and social FoMO, loneliness, and belonging
- Threat-related adverse childhood experiences and loneliness among middle-aged and older adults in China: indirect associations involving social activity participation breadth and functional limitations
- University students' perceptions of virtuous persons in Türkiye: associations with psychological wellbeing, resilience, intolerance of uncertainty, and hopelessness
BibTeX
@article{zhang2026negative,
title = {{Negative fat talk and sleep quality among Chinese college students: associations involving wellbeing and loneliness.}},
author = {Mingshou Zhang and Zidie Zang and Guifang Su and Lanqi'er Li and Yiqiao Chen and Zhimin Yi and Ming Hao},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1969448},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996524},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Negative fat talk and sleep quality among Chinese college students: associations involving wellbeing and loneliness.
AU - Mingshou Zhang
AU - Zidie Zang
AU - Guifang Su
AU - Lanqi'er Li
AU - Yiqiao Chen
AU - Zhimin Yi
AU - Ming Hao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1969448
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996524
AB - This study examined the relationship between negative fat talk and poor sleep quality in Chinese college students, and tested the roles of wellbeing and loneliness in this association. A cross-sectional survey included 2,056 students in Jiangxi Province, China. Negative fat talk, wellbeing, loneliness, physical activity, and sleep quality were assessed with the BTS, WHO-5, ULS-8, PARS-3, and PSQI, respectively. The additional observed-score analyses included 1,970 participants with observed PSQI total scores. The original latent-variable parallel mediation model was retained; a fully adjusted observed-score model was added. The original classification recorded 984 students (47.9% of the study sample) with poor sleep quality. In the original sex-adjusted regression, negative fat talk was associated with higher PSQI scores (standardized β = 0.060, p = 0.003). In the additional fully adjusted regression, its unstandardized coefficient was 0.046 (95%CI 0.016-0.076; p = 0.003). The original structural model reported an overall indirect association of 0.223, with specific associations of 0.118 through wellbeing and 0.105 through loneliness. Negative fat talk was associated with poorer self-reported sleep quality. The parallel indirect paths describe cross-sectional statistical associations.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -