Association between mental well-being, body composition, and physical activity among adolescents in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a critical developmental period during which health behaviours are established and may influence physical and mental well-being across the life course. However, evidence on the associations between body composition, physical activity, and mental well-being among South African adolescents remains limited. AIM: The study aimed to determine the association between mental well-being, body composition, and physical activity among adolescents in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. METHOD: < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between metabolic risk and mental well-being, as well as to assess the extent to which body composition components and physical activity predict mental well-being. RESULTS: Most participants (65.4%) fell in the normal body mass index (BMI) category. An average of 502.70 minutes (SD = 574.20 minutes) per week of physical activity was displayed by the total sample. Body fat percentage emerged as the only statistically significant predictor of mental well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Although most adolescents exceeded the recommended 300 minutes of physical activity per week, neither physical activity nor BMI predicted mental well-being. Instead, body fat percentage was the only significant predictor, indicating that higher body fat was associated with poorer mental well-being. These findings suggest that body composition, rather than overall physical activity levels or BMI alone, plays a critical role in adolescent mental well-being.