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Open Access Physical Exercise on the Physical and Mental Health of Obese University Students

This article is Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND licence.

Objectives: In this paper, I explore the comprehensive effects of physical exercise on the physical and mental health of obese undergraduate students, examining how physical health mediates improvements in mental health and how gender influences these effects. Methods: I utilized the Physical Self-Concept Questionnaire and the WHO-Five Well-Being Index to survey 600 undergraduates from 3 schools in Shandong Province, focusing on self-reported measures of physical exercise, physical health, and mental health. Results: I found statistically significant positive effects of physical exercise on the physical (β = 0.18, p < .01) and mental health (β = 0.31, p < .001) of obese students. Physical exercise significantly affects mental health through its impact on physical health. Moreover, gender played a statistically significant moderating role between physical exercise and physical health; compared to female students, male students experienced a stronger beneficial effect of physical exercise on physical health. Conclusions: Physical health acts as a key mediator between physical exercise and mental health in these students, with gender playing a moderating role in the direct effects of physical exercise on physical health. Future studies should delve into additional moderating variables like age, socioeconomic background, and lifestyle variations. Longitudinal research could offer insights into the enduring impacts of physical activity on both physical and psychological health.

Keywords: MENTAL HEALTH; OBESITY; PHYSICAL EXERCISE; PHYSICAL HEALTH

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: Graduate School, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, Las Pinas, Philippines

Publication date: October 1, 2024

This article was made available online on October 31, 2024 as a Fast Track article with title: "Physical Exercise on the Physical and Mental Health of Obese University Students".

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  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

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