Associations of physical activity, alcohol and nicotine consumption with diet types in secondary and tertiary education students: Results of two Austria nation-wide studies

Introduction students: summer semester 2021). Participation in these standardized online questionnaires was anonymous and voluntary; based on self-report, data on sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle characteristics (PA 2.9 ± 2.0 days/week) and 79.3% of students (24.8 ± 6.2; 3.6 ± 1.5 days/week) reported PA 3.9 for students; p < 0.01) was associated with more days/week of PA 3.4 for students) and mixed diets (2.8 for pupils; 2.9 for students), with a significant increase in leisure sports participation across diet types: up to 86.4% in pupils (p = 0.03) and 92.9% in students (p < 0.01) for the vegan diet. More vegan pupils (74.7%; p = 0.001) and students (32.5%; p < 0.01) reported not drinking alcohol compared to non-vegan pupils (range: 51.2-53.7%) and students (range: 26.7-30.7%), while there was no difference in smoking habits across dietary subgroups. Discussion Both studies were the first to examine the dual approach to sustainable health based on the prevalences of PA & exercise linked to different diet types. Key results are: (1) active vs. inactive pupils and students show lifestyle behaviours more beneficial to health, and (2) vegan vs. non-vegan youth are more active and report healthier behavioural choices. A strength of both studies is that the findings are based on large samples, especially the school study was conducted on a sample size nicely in line with the Austrian WHO HBSC study. Given the detrimental health effects of insufficient PA and poor dietary choices, attention should be focused on policies and educational curricula to improve healthy lifestyle choices, at best through a dual approach to health by permanently combining the personally modifiable and most natural lifestyle factors: (1) regular PA & exercise with (2) a healthy diet, in order to shape better public health by improved individual youth health. Although there is consensus on the tremendous health benefits through PA & exercise as a single measure, lifelong health seems impossible to be achieved by a 1-dimensional approach in the long-term. Conclusion The present research shows an interplay between PA patterns and dietary habits, not only influencing each other but also affecting other health-related behaviors. In this study, especially adopting a vegan diet is linked with healthier lifestyle behaviour, highlighting the importance of healthy dietary choices for overall health and well-being. Therefore, and since there is huge potential left untapped (Figure 1), the promising dual approach to sustainable health is recommended as a minimum and starting point in secondary and tertiary educational settings. References Wirnitzer, K. C. (n.d.a). From science 2 highscool & university. https://uni.science2.school/en/ Wirnitzer, K. C. (n.d.b). From science 2 school. https://www.science2.school/en/