Evaluation of lifestyle factors including diet, physical activity, sleep, and stress among students at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) in Makkah city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Increasing academic demands and rapidly changing lifestyle patterns, health-related behaviours among university students have become an important research focus due to their impact on physical and psychological well-being. This study designed to investigate the relationships between dietary habits, physical activity, sleep quality,  and perceived stress among students in Umm Alqura University (UQU) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 undergraduate students at Umm Al-Qura University from February to July 2025 using validated Arabic versions of the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants (REAP-S), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation, with significance set at p < 0.05. A total of 322 participants (mean age = 20.95 ± 2.241  years; 81 % female) were included. The findings showed that most participants had poor sleep quality (78.6%) and moderate stress levels (78.9%), while diet quality was generally moderate. A significant positive association was found between diet quality and sleep quality (p < 0.001), as well as between diet quality and physical activity (p = 0.017). However, no significant association was observed between diet quality and perceived stress. These findings highlight the interconnected nature of health behaviours among university students. Sleep quality and physical activity appear to play important roles in shaping diet quality, while perceived stress showed no direct association in this sample. The results emphasize the need for multi-target lifestyle interventions addressing several behaviours simultaneously.