Sedentary behaviour, physical activity and its association with depression among university students majoring in sports

Introduction: Sports students are typically expected to practice an active life and follow healthy lifestyle; thus, they are less likely to experience depression. As a result, research on depressive symptom and its risk factors on this population is scarce. Objective: This study aims to evaluate depression and its correlation with physical activity and sedentary lifestyle in university students. Methodology: Undergraduates majoring in sports at a public university in Surabaya, Indonesia, participated in this cross-sectional survey. 124 students filled a self-reported questionnaire to assess sociodemographic information, sedentary behavior (Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form), and depression (The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-42). İndependent t-test and Pearson’s correlation test were carried out to analyze the data, with significance level was set at α < 0.05. Results: The overall of total sedentary time was 7.66 hours/day (weekday) and 8.28 hours/day (weekend), and 26.61% of students were insufficiently active. The prevalence of depression was 41.94%, ranging from mild to severe. Significant association was found between SB, PA, and depression (p < 0.05). Discussion: The findings of this study demonstrated that high levels of SB in addition to low levels of PA correlated with depressive symptoms, where the interaction between these factors could give negative effects on health Conclusions: These results call for the establishment of prevention and intervention models in university health-promotion programs, with the facilitation of physical activity and the reduction of sedentary behavior in these particular population should be as essential components in order to maintain healthy body and mind.