ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1603169
Association between Lactobacillus levels, depressive mood, and BMI in college students: The moderating role of physical activity
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Hefei, Anhui Province, China
- 2University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
- 3Hefei Normal University, Sanxiaokou, China
- 4University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 5Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Anhui Province, China
- 6Beijing College of Finance and Commerce, Beijing, China
- 7Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
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Objectives: To investigate the association between Lactobacillus levels, depressive mood, and body mass index (BMI) among Chinese college students. In addition, to examine whether depressive mood mediates the association between Lactobacillus levels and BMI and whether physical activity (PA) moderates this association.This cross-sectional study recruited 423 Chinese college students using a multi-stage stratified sampling method. Lactobacillus levels were measured from stool samples, depressive mood was assessed using a well-designed depression scale, PA was tracked with accelerometers, and BMI was calculated using calibrated electronic scales. Confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and tests for mediation and moderation effects were conducted using SPSS and AMOS software.Results: Lactobacillus levels exhibited significant negative correlations with depressive moods (r = -0.131, p < 0.01) and BMI (r = -0.113, p < 0.05), while depressive mood showed a positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.117, p < 0.05). Mediation analysis revealed that depressive moods mediated the association between Lactobacillus levels and BMI, with an indirect effect of -0.021 (95% CI: -0.062 to -0.001). PA significantly moderated the association between Lactobacillus levels and BMI, as evidenced by an interaction coefficient of 0.009 (p < 0.001).Depressive mood could mediate the association between Lactobacillus levels and BMI, with PA playing a moderating role. This study provides new evidence for weight and depression management in college students.
Keywords: Lactobacillus, Depressive mood, physical activity, Body Mass Index, university students
Received: 02 Apr 2025; Accepted: 19 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, YI, Qi, Yin and Qi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: QING YI, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
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