Experimental Study on Exercise and Well-being in University Students

Psychophysical Well-being, Psychological Distress, and Physical Exercise: An Experimental Study in a Sample of University Students.

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured physical exercise program in improving university students' well-being. The study involves university students who volunteered to participate in a 10-week intervention designed to enhance their physical and psychological well-being.

The main question it aims to answer is: does participation in the structured physical exercise program lead to greater improvements in psychophysical well-being compared to the control group? Researchers will compare the experimental group (Group 2: structured physical activity program + stress management program) with the active control group (Group 1: stress management program only) to determine whether adding structured physical activity components produces additional benefits. Participants in the experimental Group will engage in a 10 week supervised physical activity program, twice a week, provided by the university sports center, and will attend an online asynchronous stress management program including 5 modules and lasting 5 weeks (one module per week).

Participants in the active control group will only attend the online asynchronous stress management program.

Participants of both groups will complete questionnaires at three time points (baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up) assessing well-being, psychological distress, quality of life, academic motivation and self-efficacy.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Currently enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or single-cycle degree program at the University of Brescia
• Adequate proficiency in Italian language

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any medical condition or illness contraindicating or limiting safe participation in physical exercise
• Serious physical injury (e.g., fracture) within the past 6 months
• Engagement in high levels of physical activity, defined as classification in the "high" category according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF; Mannocci et al., 2010)