Sex Differences in Lifestyle Behaviors among U.S. College Freshmen

Melissa D. Olfert, Makenzie L. Barr, Camille C. Charlier, Geoffrey W. Greene, Wenjun Zhou and Sarah E. Colby
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Melissa D. Olfert: Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, Division of Animal & Nutritional Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Makenzie L. Barr: Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, Division of Animal & Nutritional Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Camille C. Charlier: Clinical & Translational Science, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Geoffrey W. Greene: Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 125 Fogarty Hall, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
Wenjun Zhou: Department of Business Analytics and Statistics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Sarah E. Colby: Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-10

Abstract: Within lifestyle behavior research, the sex of populations causes differences in behaviors and outcomes of studies. This cross-sectional study investigated lifestyle behavior patterns in college students, examining sex differences in four areas: Nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress. Data from over 1100 college freshmen across 8 United States universities were used for this cross-sectional analysis. Self-reported data assessed fruit and vegetable intake, fat percent intake, physical activity, perceived stress, and sleep quality. Statistical analysis included Pearson chi-squared and Mann–Whitney’s U tests for scores by sex. Likewise, healthy cut-offs were used to determine frequency of participants within range of the five tools. Males reported higher intake of both fruits and vegetables, and percent energy from fat than females. Males also reported higher physical activity levels, lower stress levels, and poorer sleep quality than females. Of the five self-reported tools, males were found to have a larger frequency of participants with healthy ranges than females. In a large college freshmen sample, sex was found to be related to general lifestyle behaviors which strengthen results reported in the previous literature. These findings shed light on the need for lifestyle behavior interventions among at-risk college students to enhance their behaviors to healthy levels.

Keywords: sex differences; health behaviors; self-report; freshmen; college (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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