Eating Right, Sleeping Tight? A Cross-Sectional Study on the Student-Athlete Paradox for Diet and Sleep Behaviors
Abstract
Background: Student-athletes face the dual challenge of balancing academic and athletic commitments, which may simultaneously promote healthy lifestyle habits while increasing psychosocial and physiological stressors, particularly among female student-athletes. Understanding how these competing demands affect key behavioral (e.g., dietary habits, sleep, and chronotype) and psychological (e.g., body image) factors is essential for supporting their overall well-being. Therefore, this cross-sectional study investigated body dissatisfaction, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, sleep quality, and chronotype in female student-athletes compared to sedentary peers. Methods: Twenty-eight female participants voluntarily participated in the study. Twelve volleyball student-athletes (age 21.6 ± 2.4 years) were assessed during their competitive in-season period, and sixteen non-athlete students with a high sitting time (age 24.0 ± 3.2 years) completed the Mediterranean Diet Adherence questionnaire (PREDIMED), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and Body Image Dimensional Assessment (body dissatisfaction) to assess their overall well-being. Results: Student-athletes showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet (PREDIMED: 8.5 ± 1.5 score), although experiencing poorer sleep quality (PSQI: 6.8 ± 3.0 score) compared to non-athlete students with higher sitting times (PREDIMED: 6.7 ± 1.6 score; PSQI: 4.6 ± 2.3…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause.
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