Healthy lifestyle habits among students at the University of Seville, Spain

Abstract

Background: There is a growing interest in the study of healthy lifestyles due to their innumerable benefits. Several studies have shown that students tend to adopt less healthy lifestyles at the beginning of their university careers. This study explored the perceptions of undergraduate students at the University of Seville, Spain, about their lifestyle habits.

Methods: The study design was a descriptive survey, and a specially designed questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1.478 students. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis using SPSS software, version 27.

Results: The surveyed students considered that they have healthy lifestyle habits, although with some weaknesses in the development of certain habits, which were exacerbated during exam periods. Men reported better sleep and physical activity habits than women, while women considered their diet to be healthier (P=0.001). It was further found that healthier lifestyle habits depend on the education level of the mother (P=0.001).

Conclusion: It can be concluded that it is important to implement educational policies aimed at promoting and advising students on healthy lifestyle habits. Such policies would be especially useful before the start of exam periods when certain habits began to deteriorate.