Health-Promoting Lifestyle Behaviors in University Students

University students face a critical period of transition in which independent decision-making shapes lifelong health trajectories. Health-promoting lifestyle behaviours encompass multiple domains—nutrition, physical activity, stress management, health responsibility, interpersonal relations and spiritual growth—and are influenced by an interplay of personal traits, psychosocial resources and socioecological contexts. Evidence highlights that building confidence in self-care (self-efficacy) and equipping students with the skills to access and interpret health information (health literacy) are central to fostering sustained engagement in healthy practices. Discipline-specific curricula, peer networks and supportive campus environments have been shown to mitigate risk factors such as irregular sleep, inadequate diet and sedentary habits. Globally, variations in cultural norms, economic resources and institutional support necessitate tailored interventions. Practical applications include embedding health literacy modules into core courses, training peer mentors, and developing digital platforms to encourage regular monitoring of health indicators.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have illuminated the psychological pathways that underpin health-promoting behaviours in undergraduates. A large cross-sectional investigation identified proactive personality as a foundational disposition that directly enhances engagement in healthy routines. Importantly, this relationship is mediated in sequence by self-efficacy and health literacy: students with an active, change-oriented outlook develop stronger confidence in managing health tasks, which in turn bolsters their ability to comprehend and apply health information. This chain-mediating model suggests that interventions targeting both self-efficacy and literacy may amplify the effects of personality-based strategies, offering a robust framework for developing campus health programmes that yield lasting behavioural change.

Health-Promoting Lifestyle Behaviors in University Students publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in health-promoting lifestyle behaviors in university students across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Proactive personality: A stable trait characterised by the inclination to take initiative and effect change in one’s environment.

Self-efficacy: The belief in one’s capacity to execute behaviours necessary to produce specific performance attainments.

Health literacy: The ability to access, understand, appraise and apply health information to make informed health decisions.

Health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP): A validated instrument measuring multiple dimensions of health-promoting behaviour, including nutrition, physical activity and stress management.

Ecological model of health behaviour: A theoretical framework recognising that health behaviours are influenced by interplay among individual, interpersonal, organisational and community factors.

References

1. The chain mediating effect of self-efficacy and health literacy between proactive personality and health-promoting behaviors among Chinese college students. Scientific Reports (2025).
2. Health-promoting lifestyle and its predictors among health-related and non-health-related university students in Taiwan: a cross-sectional quantitative study. BMC Public Health (2023).
3. Socioecological influencers of health-promoting lifestyles in Chinese: a preliminary survey using convenient samples. Frontiers in Public Health (2024).