225935 Health-Promoting Behaviors in College Students: Association with Self-Rated Health and Academic Performance

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Adrienne Wald, EdD candidate, MBA, RN , Health and Behavior Dept, Teachers College Columbia University, New York, NY
Objective: We examine the association between meeting the recommendations for 3 health-promoting behaviors (HPBs)--sufficient physical activity, adequate fruit and vegetable intake, and adequate sleep--and self-rated health as well as academic performance (GPA) in a cross-sectional study of US undergraduate college students. Methods: We used data from the fall 2008 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment-II on undergraduate college students aged 18 to 24 years (n =21,261) from a sample of students at 40 US colleges and universities. HPBs were summed to form a combined score, and were tested using regression controlling for gender, ethnicity, BMI, smoking status, number of hours worked per week, year in school, public vs. private institution, and varsity athlete status. Data were collected in 2008 and analyzed in 2009. Results: Just 1% of the sample of college students concurrently engaged in all 3 HPBs; most engaged in zero (44.7%), one (41.7 %) or two (12.6%). Male students engaged in significantly more of each of the 3 single HPBs relative to female students. Combined HPB score was a positive significant predictor and explained additional variation in self-rated health (SRH) over socio-demographic covariates. Combined HPB score was also a significant positive predictor of GPA Conclusions: Adhering to the 3 HBP recommendations predicted both health status and academic performance in undergraduate college students. However, most college students are not meeting these recommendations and thus, may not be optimizing either their health status or academic achievement.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related nursing
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the methodology used to measure combined health-promoting behavior score in this study 2. Identify patterns of combined health-promoting behaviors in undergraduate college students and subgroups in this study

Keywords: College Students, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract Author on the content I am responsible for because I am a doctoral candidate in health and behavior and am the director of wellness education in a college setting overseeing health education and primary disease prevention programs. I am an RN with an MBA and have over 30 years of experience as a health care professional, educator (CHES), and administrator.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.