The Relative Contribution of Dietary Habits, Leisure-Time Exercise, Exercise Attitude, and Body Mass Index to Self-Rated Health among College Students in Taiwan

Huey-Hong Hsieh, Chia-Ming Chang, Li-Wei Liu and Hsiu-Chin Huang
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Huey-Hong Hsieh: Department of Leisure Management, Taiwan Shoufu University, Tainan 72153, Taiwan
Chia-Ming Chang: Department of Physical Education, Health & Recreation, National Chiayi University, Chiayi 60004, Taiwan
Li-Wei Liu: Department of Leisure Service Management, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 41349, Taiwan
Hsiu-Chin Huang: Department of Tourism, Leisure, Entertainment Management, Tatung Institute of Technology, Chiayi 60044, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-8

Abstract: Background : Self-rated health (SRH) is consistent with objective health status and can serve as a global measure of health status in the general population. The purpose of this study is to find the connections of dietary habits, leisure-time exercise, exercise attitude, and body mass index (BMI) to SRH among college students. Methods : The “dietary–exercise attitude and SRH” questionnaire was developed to investigate college students in Taiwan through the Internet. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the relationship among them. Results : The reliability and validity were confirmed using PLS-SEM. The results found exercise habits, dietary habits, and BMI explained 26.5% of SRH. Poor dietary habits and being overweight led to bad health status (negative path coefficients to SRH). Additionally, the study found that positive exercise attitude had a positive relationship with exercise habits. Conclusions : Based on the results, college students should be well-informed of the potential threat of poor dietary habits and being overweight to health and should improve their attitude with respect to exercise so as to prevent overweight-related diseases.

Keywords: dietary habits; college students, leisure-time exercise; exercise attitude; body mass index; self-rated health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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