Investigation of Psychological Strain, Food Consumption Behavior, Physical Activity Engagement within South Asian Campus-Based Young Adult Groups: Occurrence Linkage Profiling

Arjun Mehta

Authors

Arjun Mehta Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India

Keywords:

Psychological strain, dietary behavior, physical activity, South Asian students

Abstract

This study investigates the interdependent relationships among psychological strain, food consumption behavior, and physical activity engagement within South Asian campus-based young adult populations. The increasing burden of mental health challenges, lifestyle imbalances, and behavioral health risks among university students necessitates a multidimensional analytical approach that integrates psychological, nutritional, and physical activity domains. Drawing on interdisciplinary frameworks from behavioral psychology, health informatics, and socio-environmental health sciences, this paper constructs an occurrence linkage profiling model to examine how stress-related psychological states influence dietary choices and physical activity participation.

The study synthesizes evidence from prior research on mental health detection using EEG and AI-based modeling (Saha et al., 2024; Wang, 2023), behavioral intention frameworks such as the Theory of Planned Behavior (Kaur et al., 2024), and socio-psychological determinants of dietary behavior (Iqbal et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2014). Additionally, it integrates lifestyle-related evidence indicating strong associations between stress levels, dietary habits, and exercise patterns in Indian college populations (Renu Agarwal & BoopathyUsharani, 2026). The conceptual framework extends these findings by examining behavioral clustering effects across psychological and physiological dimensions.

Methodologically, the study adopts a structured analytical synthesis model supported by multivariate correlation logic (Hahs-Vaughn, 2023), enabling the interpretation of co-occurring behavioral patterns. The findings suggest that psychological strain significantly correlates with increased consumption of energy-dense food, reduced physical activity engagement, and heightened risk of behavioral dysregulation. Furthermore, socio-environmental and cognitive determinants collectively shape lifestyle triads that reinforce maladaptive cycles of stress and unhealthy behaviors.

The results highlight that campus-based environments in South Asia exhibit distinct behavioral clustering effects due to academic pressure, dietary accessibility, and limited structured physical activity engagement. The study contributes to existing literature by proposing a linkage-based behavioral profiling model that can support early detection of at-risk student populations. Implications extend to university health policy design, preventive mental health interventions, and AI-assisted behavioral monitoring systems.

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