Impact of a Short-Term Physical Activity Program on Emotion Regulation and Eating Behaviors Among Technical University Students

Abstract

Background: Emotion regulation (ER) difficulties are closely linked to maladaptive coping strategies, including impulsive and emotional eating, which undermine health and well-being in young adults. Technical university students are particularly vulnerable due to factors such as a high academic workload, sedentary behavior, and performance-related stress. This study evaluated the effects of a four-week structured physical activity intervention on ER and eating behaviors among engineering students. Methods: Seventy first- and second-year computer science and engineering students (40 males and 30 females, aged 19–25 years) from Politehnica University of Bucharest participated in the study. The intervention included three weekly supervised training sessions and a daily step count requirement (≥6000 steps), verified via weekly smartphone submissions. Pre- and post-intervention assessments employed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-36) and the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ-35). Data were analyzed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and paired-sample t-tests. Results: Significant improvements were observed in five ER domains—non-acceptance of emotional responses, goal-directed behavior, impulse control, access to regulation strategies, and emotional clarity (all p < 0.01). No change occurred in emotional awareness (p > 0.05). Eating behaviors (restrained, emotional, and external eating) showed no significant differences pre- and post-intervention (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: A short-term, structured physical activity program enhanced emotion regulation capacities but did not alter eating behaviors in the short run. These findings highlight the feasibility of embedding low-cost, exercise-based modules into higher education to strengthen students’ psychological resilience. Longer and multimodal interventions may be required to produce measurable changes in eating behaviors.