Relationship of Health Behaviors to GPA in Higher Education

This study examined the relationship of physical activity, self-esteem, and percent body-fat to grade point average of students at Middle Tennessee State University. Demographics and characteristics of the participants included age, gender, ethnicity, major, and school status. The NASA/Johnson Space Center Physical Activity Rating (Jackson, et al.,1990) was used to determine maximum oxygen uptake by self-reported activity levels. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) was used to determine level of self-esteem and a three site skin-fold measurement was used to determined percent body-fat.

The study sample consisted of 266 sophomores, juniors, and seniors from Middle Tennessee State University. Forty-nine percent were females and 51% were males with varied majors. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics at the .05 level of significance. A positive significant relationship existed between body-fat and grade point average and a negative significant relationship existed between physical activity and grade point average. A significant relationship was not found between self-esteem and grade point average. A significant negative relationship was found between

physical activity and percent body-fat. A significant relationship was not found between physical activity and self-esteem and self-esteem and percent body-fat.

Males had overall higher levels of self-esteem, higher percentage participated in enough physical activity to improve maximal oxygen uptake, and was less than one percent overweight. Females had higher grade point average and 44% were considered overweight.

The researcher concluded that higher grade point averages were not related to lower body-fat, high self-esteem, and high levels of physical activity. However, the more physical activity that was performed by the students, the lower the student's percent body-fat. Females tended to be more overweight and participated less in physical activity. Further research is needed to understand why females do not participate in physical activity.