HÁBITOS DE VIDA SALUDABLES Y RENDIMIENTO ESCOLAR EN ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS

Abstract

It is unquestionable that good behaviors regarding health have benefits, some very tangible and others not so clear. Healthy living habits (HVS) must be acquired within the family framework, but they must be reinforced and promoted in the school setting. Generally, this is done in primary and secondary education. However, there is evidence that in higher education HVS are not practiced in the best way. It has been pointed out that the latter can impact on academic performance. This study presents the modeling of school performance dependent on healthy lifestyle habits (HVS) -feeding (A), physical activity and exercise (AE), stress management (ME), interpersonal support (AI), self-realization (AU) and responsibility in health (RS)-considering the influence of sex and the level of advance in the studies. An adaptation of the Walker, Sechrist & Pender test (1987) was used to measure the HVS. A sample was obtained by student fees from the careers of Statistics, Economics, Geography, Networks and Services of Computation, Software Engineering, and Computational Technologies, guaranteeing equivalent representation of sex (M = male and F = female) and level of advancement in the educational program (I = initial and A = advanced). The school performance data was obtained from the record of grades; the general average was taken. The HVS were compared with no differences between educational programs. An HVS index was constructed and interpreted through the principal component technique and a simple regression model was postulated and adjusted for each group in the interaction of sex and advancement level. The results show that school performance is dependent on HVS when considering a grouping of students by sex and level of advancement in the educational program.