The effects of body dissatisfaction, sleep duration, and exercise habits on the mental health of university students in southern China during COVID-19

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019, universities around the world adopted a closed management model and various restrictive measures intended to reduce human contact and control the spread of the disease. Such measures have had a profound impact on university students, with a marked increase in depression-related psychological disorders. However, little is known about the specific status and factors influencing the impact of the pandemic on student mental health. Addressing this gap, this study examines the body dissatisfaction, physical activity, and sleep of university students during the pandemic, and uses their levels of depression to provide a theoretical basis for the development of mental health interventions for university students in the post-epidemic era. To achieve this, a total of 1,258 university students were randomly recruited for this cross-sectional study. Collected data included respondents’ anthropometric measurements, body dissatisfaction levels, dietary habits, sleep status, physical activity levels, and depression levels. The overall detection rate of depression was 25.4%, with higher levels of depression among women. Multiple regression analysis showed that the PSQI score (β = 1.768, P < 0.01) and physical activity scores (β = -0.048, P < 0.01) were significant predictors of depression in men, while the PSQI score (β = 1.743, P < 0.01) and body dissatisfaction scores (β = 0.917, P < 0.01) were significant predictors of depression in women. Mental health problems were prevalent among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate the possibility of alleviating depression among university students by improving their body dissatisfaction, physical activity, and sleep. However, as this study was limited to Ganzhou City, it is challenging to extrapolate the findings to other populations. As this was a cross-sectional study, a causal relationship between depression levels and lifestyle habits cannot be determined.