BackgroundLifestyle behaviors are developed during young adulthood and carried through life. Accordingly, early detection of unhealthy behaviors can help prevent the increase in non-communicable diseases in the population. College students are an especially vulnerable group who, upon entering a new environment, tend to engage in unhealthy behaviors.ObjectiveThe present study aims to evaluate the lifestyle behaviors of Kuwaiti college students and their association with markers of academic achievements.MethodsOne thousand two hundred fifty-nine students participated in the present study and answered an online questionnaire pertaining to their sociodemographic status, academic performance indicators, body weight and height, and lifestyle behaviors. Data were collected from November 2020 to February 2021.ResultsResults of the present study showed that obesity was significantly more prevalent among male participants than among females even though males were more physically active. Alternatively, females had a greater grade point average in college, slept more, and had more screen time. Interestingly, we were unable to detect a significant correlation between lifestyle behaviors and academic achievements.ConclusionThe observed differences in body mass index between genders may have been attributed to energy intake rather than energy expenditure.
Likewise, the relation between breakfast intake and academic performance is far from clear , though a positive relation was commonly reported. The inconsistency between studies may partially relate to the nutritional composition of the consumed breakfast. Thus, the failure to detect a relationship between breakfast intake and markers of academic performance may in part relate to the nutritional composition of the ingested breakfast. Therefore, future studies should focus on assessing the nutritional composition of breakfast among participants. Moreover, physical activity is thought to improve cognitive function and brain structure and function . However, its impact on academic performance is controversial and is confounded by several factors including the type, intensity, setting, etc. . For instance, moderate physical activity performed during school hours seem to positively impact academic performance. The questionnaire from the present study was not detailed en
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Future studies should give attention to details related to the varied aspects of physical activities to clarify any potential relationship.
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Several studies have reported an inverse relationship between screen time and academic performance . However, the present study failed to detect a significant correlation between these variables. It is important to note that this questionnaire did not differentiate between screen time spent on schoolwork and screen time spent relaxing and having fun. Whatever, a positive trend was observed although failed to reach statistical significance.
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On the other hand, although the relationship between sleep duration and academic performance is extensively studied, the results remain to be non-conclusive. For instance, a review by Musshafen, Tyrone reported that academic performance is correlated with sleep quality but not sleep duration. While, Dewald, Meijer reported a moderate yet significant association between sleep duration, quality, sleepiness, and academic performance. Additionally, a positive association was reported between academic performance, duration, quality, and consistency of sleep patterns . With the exception of females high school grades, where a significant negative correlation was observed, the present study failed to detect a significant correlation between sleep duration and academic performance. It is important to note that the only factor considered in the present study was the duration of sleep and that future studies should consider
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