Mediterranean Diet Adherence, Body Mass Index and Emotional Intelligence in Primary Education Students—An Explanatory Model as a Function of Weekly Physical Activity
Eduardo Melguizo-Ibáñez,
Gabriel González-Valero,
Georgian Badicu,
Ana Filipa-Silva,
Filipe Manuel Clemente,
Hugo Sarmento,
Félix Zurita-Ortega,
José Luis Ubago-Jiménez
Affiliations
Eduardo Melguizo-Ibáñez
Faculty of Education Sciences, Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Gabriel González-Valero
Faculty of Education and Sport Sciences (Melilla), Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression, University of Granada, 52071 Melilla, Spain
Georgian Badicu
Department of Physical Education and Special Motricity, Faculty of Physical Education and Mountain Sports, Transilvania University of Braşov, 500068 Braşov, Romania
Ana Filipa-Silva
Escola Superior Desporto e Lazer, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Filipe Manuel Clemente
Escola Superior Desporto e Lazer, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Hugo Sarmento
University of Coimbra, Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, 3040-248 Coimbra, Portugal
Félix Zurita-Ortega
Faculty of Education Sciences, Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
José Luis Ubago-Jiménez
Faculty of Education Sciences, Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Adolescence is a key developmental period from a health, physical and psychological perspective. In view of this, the present research aimed to establish the relationship between emotional intelligence, Mediterranean diet adherence, BMI and age. In order to address this aim, (a) an explanatory model is developed of emotional intelligence and its relationship with Mediterranean diet adherence, BMI and age, and (b) the proposed structural model is examined via multi-group analysis as a function of whether students engage in more than three hours of physical activity a week. To this end, a quantitative, non-experimental (ex post facto), comparative and cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 567 students (11.10 ± 1.24). The instruments used were an ad hoc questionnaire, the KIDMED questionnaire and the TMMS-24. Outcomes reveal that participants who engage in more than three hours of physical activity a week score more highly for emotional intelligence than those who do not meet this criterion. Furthermore, it was also observed that, whilst the majority of the sample was physically active, improvement was required with regards to Mediterranean diet adherence.
