Nutritional Status in University Students: Links to Physical Activity and Body Composition
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Physiotherapy, University North, 42000 Varaždin, Croatia
- 2Department of Food Technology, University North, 42000 Varaždin, Croatia
- 3Department of Nursing, University North, 42000 Varaždin, Croatia
- 4Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Sveti Duh, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the associations between dietary consumption patterns, physical activity level, and body composition among students of biomedical sciences, and to determine whether dietary consumption patterns and body composition differed according to physical activity level. Methods: A cross-sectional study involved 187 ungraduated university students. The study was conducted among undergraduate physiotherapy students at University North, Varaždin, Croatia, with all measurements performed in the Physiotherapy Laboratory of the Department of Physiotherapy. Assessment of body composition was carried out using Body Composition Analyzer Tanita MC 780, nutritional status using the Food Frequency Questionnaire, and the physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long version. Results: The frequency of consumption of each category of food did not significantly differ between participants, with low, moderate and high levels of physical activity. Weak positive correlations were observed between the frequency of milk and milk product consumption and muscle mass (r = 0.153), and between sugar consumption and body fat (r = 0.189). No statistically significant differences were observed in dietary consumption patterns across physical activity levels or in body composition across physical activity groups. Conclusions: The findings provide descriptive information on dietary patterns, physical activity, and body composition among biomedical sciences students and may help identify areas for future health-promotion interventions and comparative studies in university populations.
Related
- Perceived physical literacy, sports team participation, and regular physical activity among university students: a national survey study
- Effects of immersive virtual reality-based physical activity interventions on anthropometric variables and physical fitness in university students: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Nonlinear associations between physical activity, sleep quality, and psychological distress in university students: a cross-sectional interpretable machine learning study
- Intelligent-assistant support versus usual self-scheduling for extracurricular physical activity among university students: a comparative evaluation.
- Perceived academic demands and psychological distress among Chinese university students: structural associations involving chronic time pressure and leisure-time physical activity.
BibTeX
@article{filipec2026nutritional,
title = {{Nutritional Status in University Students: Links to Physical Activity and Body Composition}},
author = {Manuela Filipec and Bojan Šarkanj and Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak and Ivana Živoder and Nikolina Zaplatić Degač and Mihaela Kranjčević-Ščurić and Paulo Zekan},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18213577},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3577},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Nutritional Status in University Students: Links to Physical Activity and Body Composition
AU - Manuela Filipec
AU - Bojan Šarkanj
AU - Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak
AU - Ivana Živoder
AU - Nikolina Zaplatić Degač
AU - Mihaela Kranjčević-Ščurić
AU - Paulo Zekan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18213577
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3577
AB - Objective: This study aimed to examine the associations between dietary consumption patterns, physical activity level, and body composition among students of biomedical sciences, and to determine whether dietary consumption patterns and body composition differed according to physical activity level. Methods: A cross-sectional study involved 187 ungraduated university students. The study was conducted among undergraduate physiotherapy students at University North, Varaždin, Croatia, with all measurements performed in the Physiotherapy Laboratory of the Department of Physiotherapy. Assessment of body composition was carried out using Body Composition Analyzer Tanita MC 780, nutritional status using the Food Frequency Questionnaire, and the physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long version. Results: The frequency of consumption of each category of food did not significantly differ between participants, with low, moderate and high levels of physical activity. Weak positive correlations were observed between the frequency of milk and milk product consumption and muscle mass (r = 0.153), and between sugar consumption and body fat (r = 0.189). No statistically significant differences were observed in dietary consumption patterns across physical activity levels or in body composition across physical activity groups. Conclusions: The findings provide descriptive information on dietary patterns, physical activity, and body composition among biomedical sciences students and may help identify areas for future health-promotion interventions and comparative studies in university populations.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -