Modeling the effects of health-related habits and lifestyle on the general health of university students

The general health of undergraduate university students has long-term social and career implications. This study, involving a cross-sectional design, is aimed at modeling the impact of sleep quality, living condition, lifestyle, eating habit, financial situation and some demographic factors on the general health and wellbeing of university students. A sample of 699 undergraduate students who met the inclusion criteria where recruited from the Faculty of Education of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria for the study. Quantitative data were collected with the help of general heath questionnaire, sleep quality assessment questionnaire, lifestyle index, eating habit questionnaire, living condition questions, and demographic questions. Generalized linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictors of general health of the students while Chi-square measure of association was used to ascertain the relationship between sleep quality and living condition of the students. At 0.05 level of significance, the year of study, sex, Parents/guardians' financial status, student's financial situation last 1 month, living condition (living in overcrowded rooms), source of daily meals, number of times food is eating per day, change in eating habit, risky lifestyle and severe sleep difficulty have significant negative effect on the general health of the students. Eating 3 times a day improved the health of the students. Mitigating food insecurity, insufficient financial challenges and risky lifestyles of the students while improving the living conditions will improve the health and wellbeing of the students.