Assessing Health Behaviors as Predictors of Psychological Resilience and BMI in a National and Small Military College Sample.

Objective: Assess potential associations between the health behaviors, resilience, and body mass index (BMI) of first-year students and compare these metrics between students at a small military college and a representative national sample. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected via an online survey administered by the American College Health Association (ACHA) during the fall of 2022 from first-year students at a senior military college (n = 77) and first-year college students who completed the NCHA-III (n = 7644). Results: Military college students had significantly higher levels of weekly vigorous physical activity and strength training than the national sample. Vigorous physical activity, strength training, and better sleep significantly predicted improved psychological resilience and BMI values in the national sample. No behaviors predicted psychological resilience or BMI in the military college sample. Conclusions: Health behaviors like physical activity and sleep may improve resilience and body weight in civilian college students. However, combining military training with college life appears to have less impact on the relationship between health behaviors and resilience.