Behavioural lifestyle profiles among students in public higher education: health behaviours, digital engagement, leisure and sociability

Abstract Background Student lifestyles encompass a wide range of interrelated behaviours, yet research has rarely examined conventional health behaviours alongside digital engagement and sociocultural activities. We identified lifestyle profiles among students in Portuguese public higher education and examined their sociodemographic correlates and health, psychosocial, and academic outcomes. Methods Data were drawn from the probabilistic ES + Saúde survey of 9611 students in Portuguese public higher education. Latent profile analysis included 8840 students and 27 behavioural indicators spanning sleep, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, diet, leisure, digital use, gaming, and substance use. Multinomial logistic regression assessed sociodemographic correlates; adjusted linear models compared 17 distal outcomes. Results Four profiles emerged: Low-risk and low digital/recreational engagement (46.5%), Social alcohol and risk consumption (19.9%), Sedentary recreational digital/gaming (19.2%), and Active sociocultural and digitally engaged (14.3%). Profile membership varied by age, gender, residential relocation, field of study, institution type, and subjective social class. All 17 outcomes differed significantly across profiles after adjustment ( p < .001), although effects were generally modest (partial η² = .008–.062). The sedentary digital/gaming profile showed the least favourable overall health, psychological, social, and academic outcomes. Conversely, the active sociocultural profile combined the highest digital engagement with the highest physical activity and sociocultural participation and generally favourable outcomes. The low-risk profile also showed favourable outcomes. Conclusions Student lifestyles reflect distinct behavioural configurations rather than a simple healthy–unhealthy continuum. Digital engagement was not inherently associated with adverse outcomes; its relevance depended on accompanying behaviours. Health promotion may benefit from addressing co-occurring behavioural patterns rather than isolated risks.