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Article

Mental Health, Overweight, and Physical Exercise in Young Portuguese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

by
Tânia Gonçalves
1,
Diogo Monteiro
1,2,
Rui Matos
1,2,
Pedro Duarte-Mendes
3,4,
Nuno Couto
2,5,
Raul Antunes
1,2,
Susana Diz
1,2,
Nuno Amaro
1,2 and
Miguel Jacinto
1,2,*
1
ESECS, Polytechnique of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal
2
Research Center in Sport, Health, and Human Development (CIDESD), 5000-558 Vila Real, Portugal
3
Sport Physical Activity and Health Research & Innovation Center (SPRINT), 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal
4
Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, Santarém Polytechnique University (ESDRM-IPSantarém), 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal
5
Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, 6000-084 Castelo Branco, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(7), 4056; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15074056
Submission received: 21 February 2025 / Revised: 31 March 2025 / Accepted: 3 April 2025 / Published: 7 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Performance Analysis and Technologies for Sports)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to see if there are any associations between mental health, Body Mass Index (BMI), and physical exercise (PE) in young Portuguese adults. The sample consisted of 414 people aged between 18 and 25 years old. A sociodemographic questionnaire designed for this study and the Mental Health Inventory were used. To analyze the results, the total sample was divided according to the criteria “BMI ≥ 5 kg/m2”; “BMI < 25 kg/m2”; “does not practice PE”; and “practices PE”, and sample groups were formed with these names. It was found that there was an association between the dimensions of the Mental Health Inventory and the average time spent practicing PE in the total sample (r from 0.099 to 0.160) and in individuals with a BMI < 25 kg/m2 (r = 0.154 and 0.169). In individuals with a BMI ≥25 kg/m2, there was an association between the ‘BMI’ and depression variables (r = −0.174). In all groups, associations were found between the variables of age and BMI (r from 0.120 to 0.216). There was also a significant effect of group (non-exercise vs. exercise groups) on the dependent variables, Λ = 0.972, F(5, 408) = 2.329, p = 0.042, η2p = 0.28. This study confirms the association between PE and mental health and suggests that BMI may have an influence on the appearance of depressive symptoms in young Portuguese adults.
Keywords: mental health; physical exercise; overweight; obesity; young adults mental health; physical exercise; overweight; obesity; young adults

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Gonçalves, T.; Monteiro, D.; Matos, R.; Duarte-Mendes, P.; Couto, N.; Antunes, R.; Diz, S.; Amaro, N.; Jacinto, M. Mental Health, Overweight, and Physical Exercise in Young Portuguese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 4056. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15074056

AMA Style

Gonçalves T, Monteiro D, Matos R, Duarte-Mendes P, Couto N, Antunes R, Diz S, Amaro N, Jacinto M. Mental Health, Overweight, and Physical Exercise in Young Portuguese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study. Applied Sciences. 2025; 15(7):4056. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15074056

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gonçalves, Tânia, Diogo Monteiro, Rui Matos, Pedro Duarte-Mendes, Nuno Couto, Raul Antunes, Susana Diz, Nuno Amaro, and Miguel Jacinto. 2025. "Mental Health, Overweight, and Physical Exercise in Young Portuguese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study" Applied Sciences 15, no. 7: 4056. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15074056

APA Style

Gonçalves, T., Monteiro, D., Matos, R., Duarte-Mendes, P., Couto, N., Antunes, R., Diz, S., Amaro, N., & Jacinto, M. (2025). Mental Health, Overweight, and Physical Exercise in Young Portuguese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study. Applied Sciences, 15(7), 4056. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15074056

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