TOPLINE

University students who spent a greater relative proportion of their day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) had lower depressive symptom scores and higher self-rated health (SRH), whereas those with more sedentary behaviour (SB) showed the opposite pattern, a cross-sectional study revealed.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study among 2636 students enrolled at the University of Milan, Italy.
• Daily movement behaviours were assessed using the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and analysed as a three-part composition: MVPA (mean time spent, 40.84 min/d), light PA (LPA; mean time spent, 57.73 min/d), and SB (mean time spent, 320.75 min/d).
• Primary outcomes included depressive symptoms measured using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; mean score, 7.53), SRH on a 5-point scale (mean score, 3.33), and eating disorder-related symptomatology assessed using the SCOFF questionnaire (mean score, 1.92).
• Statistical models evaluated associations between movement behaviour composition and health outcomes, adjusted for sex, age category, educational level, smoking status, and BMI.
• Isotemporal substitution analyses estimated changes in PHQ-9, SRH, and SCOFF scores by reallocating time between behaviours in 5-minute increments up to 60 minutes; results were presented for a 15-minute reallocation.

TAKEAWAY

• In adjusted models, a higher relative proportion of MVPA was negatively associated with depressive symptoms (regression coefficient, -0.39; 95% CI, -0.53 to -0.24) and positively associated with SRH (regression coefficient, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.08-0.13).
• A higher relative proportion of SB was positively associated with depressive symptoms (regression coefficient, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.21-0.64) and negatively associated with SRH (regression coefficient, -0.11; 95% CI, -0.14 to -0.07) and the SCOFF score (regression coefficient, -0.07; 95% CI, -0.12 to -0.01).
• Isotemporal substitution analyses showed that reallocating 15 minutes of SB with MVPA was associated with lower PHQ-9 scores (-0.114 points; 95% CI, -0.156 to -0.072), higher SRH scores (0.031 points; 95% CI, 0.024-0.038), and higher SCOFF scores (0.012 points; 95% CI, 0.002-0.023).
• LPA showed limited and generally non-significant associations with the outcomes examined; reallocating 15 minutes of LPA with MVPA was associated with lower PHQ-9 scores (-0.091 points), higher SRH scores (0.027 points), and a statistically non-significant change in the SCOFF score.

IN PRACTICE

"In this study, a higher relative allocation of time to MVPA was consistently associated with more favourable mental and perceived health profiles, whereas SB showed the opposite pattern," the authors wrote.

"These findings underscore the importance of considering movement behaviours as a compositional construct and support the potential association between reallocating time with more active behaviours in young adults," they added.

SOURCE

The study was led by Flavia Pennisi, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy. It was published online on September 03, 2026, in Depression and Anxiety.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional design precluded causal inference, and reverse causality could not be excluded. Movement behaviours were self-reported and subject to recall and social desirability biases. The sample was drawn from a single university, which may have limited generalisability. Residual confounding from unmeasured factors could not be ruled out.

DISCLOSURES

This study was funded by the Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health at the University of Milan. One author reported receiving honoraria and serving as a consultant for several pharmaceutical companies, and another reported receiving financial support from the University of Milan.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.