Meeting Specific 24-Hour Movement Guidelines Is Associated With BMI Among University Students With Overweight/Obesity

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Exercise Science
• Sleep Science

Background:

• Overweight and obesity affect approximately 40% of college students.
• Physical activity and sleep are crucial behaviors influencing student weight status.
• Canada's 24-Hour Movement Guidelines offer a framework for promoting healthy behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the proportion of university students with overweight/obesity meeting the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines.
• To examine demographic differences in adherence to these guidelines.
• To determine the association between meeting movement guidelines and body mass index (BMI).

Main Methods:

• University students (n=403) aged 18-35 participated in a weight management trial.
• Objective measures included ActiGraph activity monitoring and researcher-measured height/weight.
• Self-reported sleep duration and demographic data were collected at baseline.

Main Results:

• A majority met guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (84.6%) and light-intensity physical activity (LIPA) (70.5%).
• Fewer students met sleep (58.6%) and sedentary time (15.4%) guidelines, with only 8.4% meeting all.
• Meeting MVPA or sleep guidelines was associated with significantly lower BMIs.
• Adherence to sleep and all guidelines varied by race/ethnicity.

Conclusions:

• Adherence to MVPA and sleep guidelines correlates with lower BMI in university students.
• These movement behaviors represent important targets for intervention in student weight management programs.