Myrsini Pappa

Background and Objectives: Rates of obesity have been consistently increasing in recent years across all age groups, with a notable rise among young people. Obesity represents a persistent inflammatory condition and a key contributor to various chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular disorders, metabolic abnormalities, cancer, and psychological conditions. The move from high school to university is a transitional phase accompanied by specific pressures that can affect both body weight control and mental health in students. This cross-sectional investigation aimed to investigate potential associations between excess weight and the presence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in university populations. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 5298 students enrolled at universities across ten geographic areas of Greece. Participants filled out questionnaires concerning demographic information and lifestyle behaviors. Levels of depression and anxiety were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the short form of the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6), respectively. Measurements of height and body weight were obtained to compute Body Mass Index (BMI). Results: The presence of overweight or obesity among students was significantly and independently related to female sex, urban residence, living independently, tobacco use, and lower academic performance (p = 0.0103, p = 0.0102, p = 0.0203, p = 0.0075, and p = 0.0168, respectively). Individuals reporting insufficient physical activity had 85% higher odds of being overweight or obese (p = 0.0068). Similarly, participants experiencing depressive or anxious symptomatology had more than double odds of excess body weight compared with those without such symptoms (p = 0.0015 and p = 0.0012, respectively). Furthermore, poor Mediterranean diet adherence was linked to more than a twofold increase in the odds of overweight or obesity (p = 0.0005). Conclusions: These findings offer considerable evidence that symptoms of depression and anxiety may serve as significant contributors to the development of overweight and obesity among university students. Additional longitudinal studies are strongly encouraged to substantiate these observations.

Background/Objectives: The Mediterranean diet (MD) constitutes one of the most broadly studied dietary patterns, which has been linked to the prevention of non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders. University students, a population exposed to significant psychosocial stressors and lifestyle changes, may particularly benefit from healthy eating patterns such as the MD. This study was designed to examine the potential associations of MD adherence with symptoms of depression and anxiety among Greek university students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was initially conducted among 7160 active university students from ten diverse geographic regions in Greece. After the enrollment procedure and the application of relevant exclusion criteria, 5191 university students (52.0% female; mean age: 21.3 ± 2.4 years) constituted the study population. MD adherence was assessed using the KIDMED index, while depressive and anxiety symptoms were evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6), respectively. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were collected for all the enrolled university students. All the questionnaires were completed by face-to-face interviews with expert personnel. Results: Students with low adherence to the MD were significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression (OR = 2.12; p ˂ 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.27; p ˂ 0.001) and to be overweight or obese (OR = 2.45; p ˂ 0.001) after adjustment for multiple confounding factors. Low MD adherence was also associated with male gender (OR = 0.73; p ˂ 0.01), living alone (OR = 0.78; p ˂ 0.01), smoking (OR = 0.75; p ˂ 0.01), low physical activity (OR = 1.84; p = 0.001), and poorer academic performance (OR = 0.83; p ˂ 0.01). Conclusions: Low adherence to the MD is significantly associated with increased likelihood of depression, anxiety, and excess body weight among university students in Greece. These findings underscore the importance of promoting healthy dietary habits and related lifestyle behaviors in young adult populations as a potential strategy for mental health prevention and intervention. Due to the presence of several limitations in the present study, future longitudinal and interventional studies should be performed to confirm the present findings.

Background/Objectives: Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence is associated with a lower risk of developing several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, cancer, and mental health diseases. University students are vulnerable to mental disorders that considerably affect their well-being and quality of life, which may be ascribed to the stressful environment during their academic studies. This cross-sectional survey designed to explore the relationship between MD compliance and perceived stress levels as well as sleep quality in a representative sample of university students from Greece. Methods: This survey assigned 5433 university students from 10 Greek regions. We used qualified questionnaires to examine the socio-demographics of the assigned students. Anthropometrics were determined by qualified methods. Validated questionnaires were used to determine diverse lifestyle factors like physical activity, perceived stress, sleep quality and MD adherence. Results: Concerning the primary objectives of this study, greater MD compliance was independently and significantly related to lower incidence of perceived stress and poor sleep quality in university students. As far as the secondary objectives of this study concern, greater MD compliance was independently and significantly related to female gender, rural type of residence, living with family, smoking, biomedicine studies, being normal weight, and having enhanced physical activity. Conclusions: This study reinforces the idea that healthy dietary patterns like MD could be a significant modifiable factor against perceived stress and poor sleep quality of university students. Based on this evidence, longitudinal studies should be performed to confirm whether MD can exert a causal effect on perceived stress and sleep quality.