Key result
Higher Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Index linked to ~0.13 SD lower cardiometabolic risk per 10 points.
Why the study?
Does a greater accumulation of healthy lifestyle behaviors associate with a lower continuous cardiometabolic risk score in university students?
Cross-Sectional (n=307)
No
Does a greater accumulation of healthy lifestyle behaviors associate with a lower continuous cardiometabolic risk score in university students?
Greater accumulation of modifiable healthy behaviors (regular breakfast, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, and adequate sleep) is associated with a graded reduction in composite biomarker-based cardiometabolic risk among young adult university students.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Supports behavior promotion in students; leaves open causality and intervention effects on risk.
Background Unfavorable lifestyle behaviors commonly cluster during university life, yet their combined association with continuous cardiometabolic risk (CMR) remains insufficiently characterized in university populations. Objective To evaluate the association between the accumulation of healthy behaviors and CMR in university students. Methods A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted among 307 students at a private university in Chiclayo, northern Peru. Five self-reported behaviors were assessed: regular breakfast consumption, physical activity ≥ 3 times/week, fruit intake ≥ 2 servings/day, vegetable intake ≥ 2 servings/day, and sleep duration of 7–9 h. A Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Index (0–100) was constructed by rescaling each of the five behaviors from 0 to 1. The component scores were averaged and multiplied by 100; a separate favorable behavior count (0–5) was also calculated. The CMR score integrated waist circumference (WC), mean arterial pressure, glucose, ln-triglycerides, and HDL-cholesterol, standardized by sex. Associations were estimated using linear regression models with HC3 robust standard errors and adjusted for sociodemographic variables. Results Overall, 25.7% of participants exhibited 0–1 favorable behaviors, 51.1% exhibited 2–3, and 23.1% exhibited 4–5. Each 10-point increase in the healthy behavior index was associated with a reduction of 0.127 standard deviations (SD) in the CMR score ( β = − 0.127 ; 95% CI: − 0.179 to − 0.075 ; p < 0.001 ). Compared to the group with 4–5 behaviors, the groups with 2–3 and 0–1 behaviors had higher risk scores ( β = 0.267 ; 95% CI: 0.017 to 0.516 ; and β = 0.682 ; 95% CI: 0.395 to 0.968 , respectively). Conclusion A greater accumulation of healthy lifestyle behaviors was associated with a more favorable cardiometabolic profile in university students; given the cross-sectional design, these findings should not be interpreted causally.
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Saintila et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiometabolic risk in university students (n=307). Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Index (regular breakfast consumption, physical activity ≥3 times/week, fruit intake ≥2 servings/day, vegetable intake ≥2 servings/day, sleep duration 7–9 h/night) vs. Lower healthy behavior accumulation (or per 10-point / 1-SD decrease in the 0–100 index; categorical reference: 4–5 favorable behaviors vs. 2–3 and 0–1 behaviors) was evaluated on Continuous composite cardiometabolic risk (CMR) z-score integrating waist circumference, mean arterial pressure, fasting glucose, ln-triglycerides, and HDL-cholesterol standardized by sex (β -0.127 per 10-point increase, 95% CI -0.179 to -0.075, p=<0.001). Each 10-point increase in the Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Index was associated with a 0.127 SD reduction in the cardiometabolic risk score (β = -0.127; 95% CI -0.179 to -0.075; p < 0.001).
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