Can weight predict academic performance in college students? An analysis of college women's self-efficacy, absenteeism, and depressive symptoms as mediators

ABSTRACT

Over a third of American college students are either overweight or obese, which has been suggested to negatively impact their academic achievement. Objective: This study seeks to better understand the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and grade point average (GPA), while examining potential mediators of this association. Participants and Methods: The sample consists of 298 college women who volunteered to complete online questionnaires between October and December 2014. Results: Although no significant differences were noted for sociodemographic variables, overweight and obese female students were found to report lower GPA and academic self-efficacy as well as higher depressive symptoms, compared with their normal-weight counterparts. Academic self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between BMI and GPA. Conclusions: To foster better academic achievement in female college students, and especially for those who are overweight and obese, strategies for improving self-efficacy and adaptation to college should be implemented.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic self-efficacy
• BMI
• college women
• depressive symptoms
• GPA
• school attendance

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of Canada and received approval from the Human Ethics Committee of the Université du Québec en Outaouais.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.