A comparative study of health-promoting lifestyles between university students from capital and provincial areas, Mongolia

Mongolia is experiencing a rapid socioeconomic transition, and significant urban-rural differences in health knowledge and lifestyle have been documented. University students are at a critical stage in establishing long-term health behaviors. Health-promoting lifestyle behaviors of university students are closely associated with their current and subsequent health status. This study aimed to compare the health-promoting lifestyles of university students from Ulaanbaatar and provincial areas of Mongolia. A cross-sectional study was conducted across three universities in Ulaanbaatar. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II was used to assess and compare health-promoting behaviors. The total sample size was 827 participants (352 from Ulaanbaatar and 475 from provincial areas). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of participants’ sociodemographic characteristics. An independent t-test was used to compare scores by participants’ origin. The results revealed significant differences across specific subscales shaped by students’ origins. Students from Ulaanbaatar ( M = 2.74, SD = 0.42) reported significantly better nutrition practices compared to those from provincial areas ( M = 2.63, SD = 0.31), t (825) = 4.05, p < 0.001, d = 0.29. In contrast, students from provincial areas demonstrated significantly higher scores in the stress management subscale (t (825) = -2.98, p < 0.05, d = -0.21) than their counterparts. The health-promoting lifestyle behaviors of Mongolian students varied by geographic origin, indicating the need to address nutritional gaps among provincial students and stress management gaps among urban students, based on their respective lower scores. Given the exploratory nature of the item-level analyses, these findings require replication before any firm conclusions can be drawn.