ArticleScientific reports2026
Associations between body image changes and modifiable behavioral variables among university students in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Although previous studies have already examined pandemic-era behavior changes, there are still unanswered questions related to complex and sensitive topics such as body image, that can be answered by exploratory contextual analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in body image and explore its associations with modifiable behavioral variables among university students in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, controlling by sex and age. This cross-sectional study assessed body image perception both retrospectively (before the pandemic) and during the pandemic, as well as behavioral factors, in a sample of 252 university students of both sexes (77.4% female), aged 25.22±6.73 years. The Body Silhouette Scale measured the difference between participants perceived current and desired body image. Walking time, sedentary behaviour, and diet changes were considered modifiable behaviours and were assessed using a specific question about walking time, the short-form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-short) and a specific question about diet, respectively. Including those who became dissatisfied during the pandemic, 77.4% of the sample reported dissatisfaction with their body image. Sedentary behaviour and diet changes were significantly associated with body image changes. Low levels of sedentary behaviour reduced the odds of remaining dissatisfied by approximately 53% (OR = 0.47; 95% CI: 0.23-0.94; p = 0.03), while diet changes reduced the odds of becoming dissatisfied by 82% (OR = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.06-0.51; p < 0.01) to 83% (OR=0.17; 95% CI: 0.06-0.49; p < 0.001), and the odds of remaining dissatisfied by 69% (OR = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.15-0.64; p < 0.01) to 70% (OR = 0.30; 95% CI: 0.15-0.60; p < 0.001). Lower sitting time and diet changes acted as positive associated factors among university students during pandemic, with diet changes showing a strong association.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.