Relationship Between Self-rated Health And Objective Health And Fitness Measures In College Freshmen

The college experience brings many changes that may influence the subjective and objective health of freshmen students. PURPOSE: To examine how self-rated health relates to objective health and fitness measures in first-time college freshmen in South Texas. METHODS: The sample of 308 college freshmen was surveyed during the fall 2022 semester. We examined the relationship between self-rated health, ranging from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) and three objective health measures (i.e., body-mass index: BMI, percent body fat, and total cholesterol), and three fitness measures (i.e., hand grip strength, back isometric strength, and agility). The ordinary least square (OLS) regression models were applied to test whether or not self-rated health was related to objective health and fitness measures. RESULTS: A total of 308 participants completed the survey and objective health and fitness tests (n = 308, male = 131, female = 177, and 83.77% of the sample identified as Hispanic: n = 258). For objective health outcomes, OLS regression models showed that higher self-rated health is related to lower BMI (b = -1.89, p < 0.001, 95% CI: -2.84, -0.95) and lower percent body fat (b = -3.60, p < 0.001, 95% CI: -4.66, -2.54), holding other covariates constant. There was no significant relationship between self-rated health and total cholesterol. For fitness measures, OLS regression models indicate that higher self-rated health is related to greater back isometric strength (b = 7.98, p = 0.032, 95% CI: 0.71, 15.25) and greater agility (b = 1.51, p = 0.004, 95% CI: 0.49, 2.52), holding other covariates constant. There was no significant relationship between self-rated health and hand strength. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that how freshman subjectively feel about their health is related to objective health and fitness measures. Improving pathways in which freshman assess their health may reflect positively on various health and fitness outcomes. Meadow Foundation (2021040061)/NO AI was used.