Observational studyEating and weight disorders : EWD2022
Body image and compulsive exercise: are there associations with depression among university students?
Observational study in Eating and weight disorders : EWD, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04465435 (Sustainable UNiversity Life), which is not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Sustainable UNiversity Life (SUN): Mental Illness and Pain Conditions Among Students - a Cohort Study to Identify Modifiable Risk and Prognostic Factors
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Body image and mental health in university students: a scoping review of global evidence and research gaps.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence and factors associated with disordered eating behaviors, food addiction, and compulsive exercise among females studying clinical nutrition in Saudi Arabia.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Associations between compulsive exercise and mental health constructs in eating disorders.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- The mediating role of psychological inflexibility and social avoidance in relationship between body image disturbance and depression among young adults with acne in China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Perfectionism and emotional eating among college students: a chained mediation model of body image state and exercise addiction.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- More is not always better: longitudinal associations and nonlinear dose-response relationships between physical activity, psychological capital, and positive body image among Chinese university students.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Identification of Affective- and Social-Reinforcement Functions of Driven Exercise: Evidence From Three Samples.Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2025Article
- Gender-based analysis of body dissatisfaction among youths in Singapore: findings from the National Youth Mental Health Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Impact of intermittent fasting on physical activity: a national survey of Chinese residents aged 18-80 years.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Association Between Maternal Weight Perception Before and During Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression Status in Southern China.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Do Swedish rock-climbers exhibit more eating disorder and body dissatisfaction symptoms than non-climbers? A cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Assessment of eating disorder symptoms, compulsive exercise, body dissatisfaction and depression in Swedish national team gymnasts, with a one-year follow-up.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2024Article
- Maladaptive exercise in eating disorders: lifetime and current impact on mental health and treatment seeking.Journal of eating disorders · 2024Article
- Physical and emotional consequences of excess weight as experienced by individuals with spinal cord injuries.The journal of spinal cord medicine · 2024Article
- The Association of Body Image Perceptions with Behavioral and Health Outcomes among Young Adults.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Influence of Body Image, Risk of Eating Disorder, Psychological Characteristics, and Mood-Anxious Symptoms on Overweight and Obesity in Chilean Youth.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Evaluation of Depression and Its Correlates in Terms of Demographics, Eating Habits, and Exercises Among University Students: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Analysis.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2024Article
- Recent insights in the correlation between social media use, personality traits and exercise addiction: a literature review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Exploring Body Image Dissatisfaction and Psychiatric Co-morbidities in Rural India: A Comprehensive Review.Cureus · 2024Review
- Protocol for a 2-year longitudinal study of eating disturbances, mental health problems and overuse injuries in rock climbers (CLIMB).BMJ open · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeMental health problems among university students have been reported to be significantly increasing and suggested to be associated with college drop-out. Body dissatisfaction and compulsive exercise are both constructs relevant for mental health problems in general and eating disorders in particular. This study examined associations between body dissatisfaction, compulsive exercise and self-reported symptoms of depression among Swedish university students.
methodsParticipants (n = 4262) are students in an ongoing cohort study, and data from the baseline assessment were used. Four linear regression models were built to explore the associations between body dissatisfaction, compulsive weight control exercise and depressive symptoms.
resultsOur findings showed that females reported higher levels of body dissatisfaction than males. Body dissatisfaction and compulsive exercise were associated with self-reported symptoms of depression in this non-clinical population. Results showed that compulsive exercise was negatively associated with reported symptoms of depression, while body dissatisfaction was positively associated with symptoms of depression.
conclusionIn line with previous research, there was a gender difference in body dissatisfaction where females displayed higher levels of dissatisfaction than males. Body dissatisfaction was positively associated with reported symptoms of depression, suggesting support of previous research indicating body dissatisfaction to increase mental health problems. Compulsive exercise was negatively associated with symptoms of depression suggesting a behavior negatively reinforced, supporting both constructs to be of interest for reported symptoms of depression in a non-clinical population of Swedish university students. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III, cohort study.
trial registrationhttp://clinicaltrials.gov/ID : NCT04465435.
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