Mental Well-Being, Sleep Problems, and Risky Eating Habits Across Physical Activity Levels: Associations with Quality of Life in a Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22756260Keywords:
Dietary habits, Mental well-being, Physical activity, Sleep problemsAbstract
This study examined the associations between physical activity level and three factors linked to quality of life among adults: mental well-being, difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep, and risky eating habits. Quality of life was not measured directly but was treated as the broader conceptual framework encompassing these variables. This cross-sectional study included 1,035 individuals aged 18 years or older from 53 provinces across Türkiye’s seven geographical regions. Participants were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Eating Habits Index, the Basic Scale on Insomnia Complaints and Quality of Sleep, and the Mental Well-Being Scale. Analyses were performed using SPSS v27 and JASP v0.19.3, with statistical significance set at p<.05. One-way MANOVA revealed a significant overall difference in the combined dependent variables across physical activity levels (Wilks’ Λ=.970; F(6,2060)=5.26; p<.001; partial η²=.015). Follow-up ANOVAs showed that participants with moderate and high physical activity levels had higher mental well-being scores than those with low physical activity levels (F(2,1032)=13.34; p<.001; partial η²=.025) and fewer difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep (F(2,1032)=7.31; p<.001; partial η²=.014). Risky eating habits did not differ across physical activity levels (p=.734). Physical activity was positively correlated with mental well-being (r=.19) and negatively correlated with sleep problems (r=−.14), but was not associated with risky eating habits (r=−.03). Overall, higher physical activity levels were associated with better mental well-being and fewer sleep problems. However, the practical implications should be interpreted cautiously because the observed effect sizes were small.
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