Psychological symptoms in young university students: analysis of physical activity and body composition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v83.119232Keywords:
bioelectrical impedance, body fat distribution, emotional well-being, exercise, mental healthAbstract
Introduction: Physical activity is recognized as a protective factor for mental health; however, evidence regarding its relationship with body composition and psychological symptoms remains inconsistent.
Objective: To analyze the relationship between symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress and levels of physical activity and body composition (Body Mass Index and body fat percentage) in university students.
Methodology: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted with 115 university students (M = 20.4 years, SD = 3.5) from a private university in Colombia. Psychological symptoms were assessed using DASS-21, physical activity using IPAQ-SF, and body composition using body mass index and bioelectrical impedance analysis. One-way ANOVA and Pearson correlations were performed.
Results: No significant differences were found in depression, anxiety, and stress according to physical activity levels or body fat percentage. However, students with overweight or obesity presented lower levels of anxiety than those with normal weight. Descriptively, participants with underweight and with a “lean” body fat percentage reported higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress than those with normal weight and overweight or obesity.
Discussion: The lack of significant associations may be explained by sample homogeneity and absence of mediating variables, suggesting that physical activity may influence mental health indirectly. Lower anxiety in overweight-obese students partially supports the “jolly fat” hypothesis.
Conclusions: Levels of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms did not vary according to physical activity intensity. Students classified as overweight or obese based on body mass index showed fewer anxiety symptoms than those classified as normal.
References
Aguirre-Loaiza, H., Herrera-Agudelo, L., & Nanez, J. (2024a). Normality assumption in health sciences research: What is the strongest test? How to calculate it? Salud Uninorte, 40(2), 355–358. https://doi.org/10.14482/sun.40.02.546.741
Aguirre-Loaiza, H., Mejía-Bolaño, A., Cualdrón, J., & Ospina, S. (2021). Psychology, physical activity, and post-pandemic health: An embodied perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 588931. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.588931
Aguirre-Loaiza, H., Mejía-Bolaños, A., Osorio-Cualdrón, J., Ospina-Cano, S., Nanez, H., & Cobo-Angel, C. (2024b). Mental health and physical activity during the outbreak of COVID-19: Analysis of rapid response research using a systematic review. Journal of Physical Education, 35(1), e-3535. https://doi.org/10.4025/jphyseduc.v35i1.3535
Aldobali, M., & Pal, K. (2021). Bioelectrical impedance analysis for evaluation of body composition: A review. In 2021 International Congress of Advanced Technology and Engineering (ICOTEN) (pp. 1-10). IEEE. https://doi.org/ 10.1109/ICOTEN52080.2021.9493494
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.; DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Publishing.
Amiri, S., & Behnezhad, S. (2019). Obesity and anxiety symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuropsychiatrie, 33(2), 72–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40211-019-0302-9
Anger, Å., Wallerblad, A., Kaaman, L., Broman, R., Holmberg, J., Lundgren, T., Salomonsson, S., Sundberg, C., & Martinsson, L. (2023). Introducing braining–physical exercise as adjunctive therapy in psychiatric care: A retrospective cohort study of a new method. BMC Psychiatry, 23(1), 566. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05053-8
Antony, M., Bieling, P., Cox, B., Enns, M., & Swinson, R. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a communi-ty sample. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 176–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.10.2.176
Antúnez, Z., & Vinet, E. (2017). Escalas de Depresión, Ansiedad y Estrés (DASS – 21): Validación de la versión abreviada en estudiantes universitarios chilenos. Terapia Psicológica, 30(3), 49-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-48082012000300005
Auerbach, R., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., Demyttenaere, K., Ebert, D., Green, J., Hasking, P., Murray, E., Nock, M., Pinder-Amaker, S., Sampson, N., Stein, D., Vilagut, G., Zaslavsky, A., & Kessler, R. (2018). WHO world mental health surveys international college stu-dent project: Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 127(7), 623–638. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000362
Bailey, A., Hetrick, S., Rosenbaum, S., Purcell, R., & Parker, A. (2018). Treating depression with physical activity in adolescents and young adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Psychological Medicine, 48(7), 1068–1083. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717002653
Bailly, M., Pélissier, L., Coudeyre, E., Evrard, B., Bingula, R., Rochette, C., Mériade, L., Blavignac, C., Four-nier, A., Bignon, Y.-J., Rannou, F., Dutheil, F., Thivel, D., & Duclos, M. (2022). Systematic review of COVID-19-related physical activity-based rehabilitations: Benefits to be confirmed by more robust methodological approaches. International Journal of Environmental Research and Pub-lic Health, 19(15), 9025. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159025
Botero-Arboleda, A., & Aguirre-Loaiza, H. (2025). Depressive symptoms and physical activity: Post-Confinement Analysis of the Covid-19 Pandemic. MHSalud: Revista En Ciencias Del Movimiento Humano Y Salud, 22(2), e19578. https://doi.org/10.15359/mhs.22-2.19578
Bove, R., Gerweck, A., Mancuso, S., Bredella, M., Sherman, J., & Miller, K. (2016). Association between adiposity and cognitive function in young men: Hormonal mechanisms. Obesity, 24(4), 954–961. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21415
Camargo, E. M., López Gil, J. F., Costa, C. G., Tárraga López, P. J., Campos, W., & Silva, S. G. D. (2024). Physical activity as a mediator of the association of body mass index change with anxie-ty/depression symptoms in Brazilian adults during COVID-19. Nutricion Hospitalaria, 41(2), 426–432. https://doi.org/10.20960/nh.04716
Cardozo, L. A., Cuervo, Y., & Murcia, J. (2016). Porcentaje de grasa corporal y prevalencia de sobrepeso-obesidad en estudiantes universitarios de rendimiento deportivo de Bogotá, Colombia. Nutri-ción Clínica y Dietética Hospitalaria, 36(3), 68-75. https://doi.org/10.12873/363cardozo
Catoira, N., Tapajóz, F., Allegri, R., Lajfer, J., Rodríguez Cámara, M., Iturry, M., & Castaño, G. (2016). Obe-sity, metabolic profile, and inhibition failure: Young women under scrutiny. Physiology and Behavior, 157, 87–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.01.040
Colegio Colombiano de Psicólogos. (2016). Deontología y bioética del ejercicio de la psicología en Co-lombia. Manual Moderno.
Craig, C., Marshall, A., Sjöström, M., Bauman, A., Booth, M., Ainsworth, B., Pratt, M., Ekelund, U., Yngve, A., Sallis, J., & Oja, P. (2003). International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(8), 1381–1395. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB
Crisp, A., & McGuiness, B. (1976). Jolly fat: relation between obesity and psychoneurosis in general population. BMJ, 1(6000), 7–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.1.6000.7
Daza, P., Novy, D., Stanley, M., & Averill, P. (2002). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21: Spanish translation and validation with a Hispanic sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 24(3), 195–205. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016014818163
Di Liegro, C., Schiera, G., Proia, P., & Di Liegro, I. (2019). Physical activity and brain health. Genes, 10(9), 720. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10090720
Dinger, M. K., Behrens, T. K., & Han, J. L. (2006). Validity and reliability of the International Physical Ac-tivity Questionnaire in college students. American Journal of Health Education, 37(6), 337–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2006.10598924
Dwight, A. R., Briesch, A. M., Hoffman, J. A., & et al. (2024). Systematic review of the psychometric evi-dence supporting use of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, Short Form (DASS-21) with youth. Child & Youth Care Forum, 53(6), 1235–1250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-024-09795-8
Favieri, F., Forte, G., & Casagrande, M. (2019). The executive functions in overweight and obesity: A systematic review of neuropsychological cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2126. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02126
Forsén, L., Loland, N. W., Vuillemin, A., Chinapaw, M. J. M., van Poppel, M. N. M., Mokkink, L. B., Terwee, C. B., & Lekander, M. (2010). Self-administered physical activity questionnaires for the elderly: A systematic review of measurement properties. Sports Medicine, 40(7), 601–623. https://doi.org/10.2165/11531350-000000000-00000
Gadde, K., Martin, C., Berthoud, H., & Heymsfield, S. (2018). Obesity: Pathophysiology and management. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 71(1), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2017.11.011
Gariepy, G., Nitka, D., & Schmitz, N. (2010). The association between obesity and anxiety disorders in the population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Obesity, 34(3), 407–419. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2009.252
Gordon, B., McDowell, C., Lyons, M., & Herring, M. (2017). The effects of resistance exercise training on anxiety: A meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sports Medicine, 47(12), 2521–2532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0769-0
JASP Team. (2024). JASP (Version 0.19.0) [Computer software]. https://jasp-stats.org/
Kandola, A., Ashdown-Franks, G., Hendrikse, J., Sabiston, C., & Stubbs, B. (2019). Physical activity and depression: Towards understanding the antidepressant mechanisms of physical activity. Neu-roscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 107, 525–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.040
Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Lee, J., Lee, E. H., & Moon, S. H. (2019). Systematic review of the measurement properties of the Depres-sion Anxiety Stress Scales–21 by applying updated COSMIN methodology. Quality of Life Re-search, 28(9), 2325–2339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02177
Lubans, D., Richards, J., Hillman, C., Faulkner, G., Beauchamp, M., Nilsson, M., Kelly, P., Smith, J., Raine, L., & Biddle, S. (2016). Physical activity for cognitive and mental health in youth: A systematic re-view of mechanisms. Pediatrics, 138(3), e20161642. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1642
Luppino, F., de Wit, L., Bouvy, P., Stijnen, T., Cuijpers, P., Penninx, B., & Zitman, F. (2010). Overweight, obesity, and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Ar-chives of General Psychiatry, 67(3), 220–229. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.2
Luthar, S., & Becker, B. (2020). The impact of stress on the mental health of college students: A longitu-dinal study. Journal of College Student Development, 61(2), 123-138. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2020.0012
Magallares, A., & Pais-Ribeiro, J. (2013). Mental health and obesity: A meta-analysis. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 9(2), 295–310. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s11482-013-9226-x
Martínez, J., & Sánchez, J. (2021). Regulación emocional y obesidad: Un enfoque psicobiológico. Journal of Behavior and Feeding, 1(1), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.32870/jbf.v1i1.13
Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social. (2015). Encuesta nacional de salud mental 2015 (Tomo I). https://www.minjusticia.gov.co/programas-co/ODC/Publicaciones/Publicaciones/CO031102015-salud_mental_tomoI.pdf
Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social. (2023). Encuesta de Minsalud revela que el 66,3% de los co-lombianos declara haber enfrentado algún problema de salud mental. https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Paginas/66-porciento-de-colombianos-declara-haber-enfrentado-algun-problema-de-salud-mental.aspx
Nameni, G., Jazayeri, S., Salehi, M., Esrafili, A., Hajebi, A., & Motevalian, S. (2024). Association between visceral adiposity and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). BMC Psychology, 12(1), 49. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01542-x
Nooijen, C., Blom, V., Ekblom, Ö., Ekblom, M., & Kallings, L. (2019). Improving office workers’ mental health and cognition: A 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial targeting physical activity and sedentary behavior in multi-component interventions. BMC Public Health, 19, 266. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6589-4
Nuttall, F. (2015). Body mass index. Obesity, BMI, and health: A critical review. Nutrition Today, 50(3), 117–128. https://doi.org/10.1097/NT.0000000000000092
Palinkas, L., Wingard, D., & Barrett-Connor, E. (1996). Depressive symptoms in overweight and obese older adults: A test of the “jolly fat” hypothesis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 40(1), 59–66. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(95)00542-0
Paricahua-Peralta, J. N., Estrada-Araoz, E. G., Poma-Mollocondo, R. S.., Velasquez-Giersch, L.., Herrera-Osorio, A. J., Cruz-Visa, G. J., Guevara-Duarez, M. F.., Mora-Estrada, O.., & Cruz-Laricano, E. O. (2024). Calidad de sueño, salud mental y actividad física en estudiantes universitarios de la Amazonía peruana. Retos, 61, 59-68. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v61.109649
Pearl, R., & Puhl, R. (2018). Weight bias internalization and health: A systematic review. Obesity Re-views 19(8), 1141–1163. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12701
Prokscha, S. (2011). Practical Guide to Clinical Data Management, (3th ed.). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1201/b12832
Redondo-Flórez, L., Ramos-Campo, D., & Clemente-Suárez, V. (2021). Body composition, psychological, cardiovascular, and physical activity factors related with academic school performance. Sus-tainability, 13(16), 8775. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168775
Revah-Levy, A., Speranza, M., Barry, C., Hassler, C., Gasquet, I., Moro, M.-R., & Falissard, B. (2011). Asso-ciation between Body Mass Index and depression: the “fat and jolly” hypothesis for adolescents girls. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 649. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-649
Ruiz, F. J., García Martín, M. B., Suárez Falcón, J. C., & Odriozola González, P. (2017). The hierarchical factor structure of the Spanish version of Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale -21. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 17(1), 97–105. https://www.ijpsy.com/volumen17/num1/449/the-hierarchical-factor-structure-of-EN.pdf
Sanda, B., Vistad, I., Haakstad, L. A. H., & Berntsen, S. (2017). Reliability and concurrent validity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form among pregnant women. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 9, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-017-0070-4
Singh, B., Olds, T., Curtis, R., et al. (2023). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and psychological distress: An overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), 1203–1209. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-106195
Singh, V., Kumar, A., & Gupta, S. (2022). Mental health prevention and promotion-A narrative review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 898009. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.898009
Smith, P., & Merwin, R. (2021). The role of exercise in management of mental health disorders: An inte-grative review. Annual Review of Medicine, 72, 45–62. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-060619-022943
Stubbs, B., Vancampfort, D., Rosenbaum, S., Firth, J., Cosco, T., Veronese, N. & Schuch, F. (2018). An ex-amination of the anxiolytic effects of exercise for people with anxiety and stress-related disor-ders: A meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 268, 102-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.07.011
Tristancho-Celis, C., Parra-Jaramillo, L., Quiceno-Florez, C., Sandberg, T., Franco, A., Salazar-Tamayo, D., Vargas-Galeano, M., & Aguirre-Loaiza, H. (2025). Efectos de la actividad física sobre la salud mental: una revisión paraguas de carácter integral. Revista de Psicología Aplicada al Deporte y al Ejercicio Físico, 10(2), e16. https://doi.org/10.5093/rpadef2025a16
Villamar, G., Quinto, E., Barragán, C., & Molina, S. (2026). Prevalence of anxiety and depression in the university population: Quantitative analysis of associated factors and psychosocial conse-quences. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología, 6, 2366. https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt20262366
White, R., Vella, S., Biddle, S., Sutcliffe, J., Guagliano, J., Uddin, R., Burgin, A., Apostolopoulos, M., Nguyen, T., Young, C., Taylor, N., Lilley, S., & Teychenne, M. (2024). Physical activity and mental health: a systematic review and best-evidence synthesis of mediation and moderation studies. The In-ternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 21(1), 134. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-024-01676-6
Wit, L., van Straten, A., van Herten, M., Penninx, B., & Cuijpers, P. (2009). Depression and body mass index, a u-shaped association. BMC Public Health, 9, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-14
World Health Organization. (2018). Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030: More active people for a healthier world. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241514187
World Health Organization. (2021). WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour: at a glance. https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/f3885485-e7eb-4504-8026-edd9bb53a6ee/content
World Health Organization. (2022a). WHO highlights urgent need to transform mental health and men-tal health care. https://www.who.int/news/item/17-06-2022-who-highlights-urgent-need-to-transform-mental-health-and-mental-health-care
World Health Organization. (2022b). COVID-19 pandemic triggers 25% increase in prevalence of anxi-ety and depression worldwide. https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide
World Health Organization. (2024). Physical activity. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
World Health Organization. (2025). Mental disorders. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders
World Medical Association. (2013). World Medical Association declaration of Helsinki: Ethical princi-ples for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, 310(20), 2191–2194. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.281053
Yang, Y., Shields, G., Guo, C., & Liu, Y. (2018). Executive function performance in obesity and overweight individuals: A meta-analysis and review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 84, 225–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.11.020
Zapata, C., García-Quevedo, D., Bedoya, M., Ayala, F., Ramos, S., González-Correa, C., Tapasco-Tapasco, O., García, A., Martínez-Pernía, D., Migeot, J., Toro, F., Nanez, J., Arias, I., Barrios_Barnias, L., & Aguirre-Loaiza, H. (2025). Cognitive functioning, fat mass and physical activity in young adults. Retos, 63, 326–337. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v63.108797
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Laura Herrera-Agudelo, Valentina González-Garzón, Juan Bernardo Zuluaga-Valencia, María Claudia Martínez-Arboleda, Laura Barrios-Barinas, Camila Tristancho-Celis, César Núñez, Jonathan Ñañez, Haney Aguirre-Loaiza
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and ensure the magazine the right to be the first publication of the work as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship of the work and the initial publication in this magazine.
- Authors can establish separate additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (eg, to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Is allowed and authors are encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (eg, in institutional repositories or on their own website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as to a subpoena more Early and more of published work (See The Effect of Open Access) (in English).
This journal provides immediate open access to its content (BOAI, http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm#openaccess) on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The authors may download the papers from the journal website, or will be provided with the PDF version of the article via e-mail.
