The relationships between motor activity and food habits with stress management in Medical students

Background: There is a relationship between stress levels with motor activity and food habits in different ways. The present study aimed to determine the role of motor activity and food habits in stress management of students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: Through a cross-sectional study using randomized allocation sampling, 400 medical students in Ilam University of Medical Sciences were recruited. The "HPLP II" questionnaire including stress management and other variables was administered. Collected data were analyzed using ANOVA and linear regression tests in SPSS software.
Results: Mean and standard deviation of age and stress management score was 20.94±1.9 years and 2.47±0.5, respectively that 59.3% were female. In general, poor, middle and
good stress management were estimated to be 14%, 68.5% and 17.5%, respectively. There were significant relationships between students’ stress management with motor activity and food habits but not with age and gender. Linear regression showed that by improving motor activity and food habits score, the students’ stress management score has increased significantly. Eventually, food habits showed that has a more important role in relation with stress management.
Conclusions: Health education in advanced levels considering motor activity and in particular a good nutritional status can have an important role in improvement of students’ stress management.