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Background: The university years are a critical period for young adults, as they are more exposed to obesogenic behaviors and experience stressful situations that compromise their mental health. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms and evaluate the association between the combined occurrence of obesogenic behaviors among university students., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on students from a public university in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from July to August 2020 using an online questionnaire. The outcome variables (anxiety and depression symptoms) were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). The co-occurrence of obesogenic behaviors was measured based on irregular consumption of fruits and vegetables, frequent consumption of ultra-processed foods, physical inactivity during leisure time, and sedentary behavior. A Venn diagram was used for the exploratory analysis. To verify the association between the outcome and explanatory variables, a directed acyclic graph model was constructed, and multivariate logistic regression was performed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs)., Results: A total of 1,353 students aged 18-24 years participated in this study. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were present in 46.1% and 54.6% of the participants, respectively. The most prevalent combination of obesogenic behaviors was frequent consumption of ultra-processed foods, physical inactivity during leisure time, and sedentary behavior (17.2%). The greater the number of simultaneous obesogenic behaviors, the higher the chance to present symptoms of anxiety [OR: 2.81 (95%CI: 1.77-4.46)] and depression [OR: 3.46 (95%CI: 2.20-5.43)]., Conclusion: These findings reinforce the need to take actions to promote mental health in the university environment in conjunction with programs to promote a healthy lifestyle and improve the physical and mental well-being of students., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The university context plays an important role in the health-disease process since students are potentially vulnerable to obesogenic behaviors that can influence long-term health., Objective: To estimate the prevalence of and factors associated with the co-occurrence of obesogenic behaviors among university students., Design and Setting: This was a cross-sectional study at a Brazilian public university., Methods: This study was conducted with all university students in the first and second semesters of 2019 at Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data were collected between April and September 2019, using a self-administered questionnaire. The outcome was the co-occurrence of obesogenic behaviors, measured as the sum of three risk behaviors: inadequate eating practices, leisure-time physical inactivity, and sedentary behavior. A Venn diagram was used to evaluate the simultaneous occurrence of risk behaviors. Pearson's chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were used for statistical analyses., Results: A total of 351 students participated in the study. Inadequate eating practices constituted the most prevalent isolated risk behavior (80.6%), which was also the most prevalent when combined with sedentary behavior (23.6%). University students aged 20 years or younger, with non-white skin color, poor self-rated health, and symptoms of depression had increased chances of simultaneous occurrence of obesogenic behaviors., Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of developing and implementing actions to reduce combined obesogenic behaviors in the university environment. Institutions should focus on creating an environment that promotes health-protective behaviors such as physical activity and healthy eating.