Associations and Relative Contribution Patterns of Healthy Eating Attitudes and Physical Activity across Quality of Life Domains among Undergraduate Sport Sciences Students

This study aimed to examine the associations among healthy eating attitudes, physical activity level, and quality of life (QoL) domains among undergraduate sport sciences students, and to evaluate the relative contribution patterns of healthy eating attitudes and physical activity across QoL domains. The study also examined the relationship between healthy eating attitude categories and physical activity level categories. A cross-sectional and correlational design was used. The sample consisted of 229 undergraduate sport sciences students from universities in Kayseri and Yozgat, Türkiye. Data were collected using a personal information form, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief Form Turkish version, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, and the Attitude Scale for Healthy Nutrition. Healthy eating attitudes showed weak-to-modest positive associations with physical health, psychological, and environment QoL domains, with coefficients ranging from r = .132 to r = .295, but not with social relationships. Physical activity was positively associated with all QoL domains, with weak-to-modest coefficients ranging from ρ = .220 to ρ = .297. The association between healthy eating attitude categories and physical activity level categories was significant but small, Cramer’s V = .196. Regression models explained limited variance in QoL domains, ranging from 5.5% to 11.4%. Healthy eating attitudes showed their clearest contribution to the physical health domain, whereas physical activity showed broader but modest contributions to the physical health, psychological, and social relationships domains. These findings suggest that healthy eating attitudes and physical activity are related but distinct lifestyle factors associated with QoL among sport sciences students.