Friends, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in university students: A social network analysis

Abstract

Introduction: The understanding of socialization processes during youth and their relationship with healthy behaviors are crucial for university education. Objective: To explore the associations of the characteristics of the social network of friends with being physically active and with sedentary behavior in university students. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study, based on a social network analysis, conducted in a sample of 475 university students. Measurements included sociodemographic, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and social network variables. The associations of social network traits with physical activity and sedentary behavior were explored by logistic regression models. Confidence intervals (95%) were estimated and a significance level of p<0.05 was considered. Results: In women, being part of at least a cluster of friends was significantly associated with being physically active (adjusted OR 2.3; 95%CI: 1.2-4.6), and having high popularity was significantly associated with a lower probability of being physically active (adjusted OR 0.3; 95%CI: 0.1-0.7). Also, an increment of ten percentage points of active friends was significantly associated with a higher probability of being physically active (adjusted OR: 9.3; 95%CI: 3.5-24.6). Regarding sedentary behavior, in women, an increase of ten percentage points in the number of sedentary friends was significantly associated with a higher probability of being sedentary (adjusted OR: 5.5; 95%CI 2.5-12.3). In men, none of the studied associations were statistically significant. Conclusion: Some social network features are relevant for female university students in relation to their physical activity levels and sedentary behaviors. Findings highlight the need to consider social network dynamics for designing initiatives aimed at physical activity promotion and sedentary behavior reduction.

Health Behaviors of Colombian First-Semester University Students in Association with Behaviors of Close Social Ties, Living Arrangement, and Time Spent with Peers

“…Finally, regarding peers, a significant correlation was found regarding participants’ expected physical activity and their peers’ physical activity, which supports findings among Colombian students by Arango-Paternina and colleagues [ 11 ]. Nonetheless, students seem to not show many health behaviors similar to their peers.…”

“…Moreover, peer influence to consume alcohol as well as perceived drinking in the peer group was associated with alcohol use among Colombian students as alcohol is often seen as a socialization agent that assists in the establishment of peer relations [ 10 ]. Arango-Paternina and colleagues [ 11 ] found that Colombian female students whose peers were not physically active were more likely to not be physically active themselves compared to students whose peers were physically active. Furthermore, Troncoso and Amaya [ 12 ] found that parents and peers significantly influence Latin American students’ food consumption habits, with parents showing stronger influence.…”