ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1522918
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Approaches in Psychosocial and Mental HealthView all 7 articles
Self-Rated Health Habits, Mental Health, Emotional Intelligence, and Impulsivity Across the Baltic States
Provisionally accepted- 1Vilnius University, Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania
- 2Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
- 3Klaipėda University, Klaipėda, Lithuania
- 4Latvian Academy of Sport Education, Riga, Latvia
- 5University of Tartu, Tartu, Tartu County, Estonia
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Introduction: The study aims to compare physical activity, sleep, body mass index (BMI), subjective health, stress, depression, impulsivity, and emotional intelligence across the Baltic countries while identifying key health determinants.Methods: We interviewed men and women (18–64 years) in Estonia (n=1503) Latvia (n=1563) and Lithuania (n=2358) via an online survey.Results: Obesity is most common among individuals in EE, both males and females, while the highest rates of overweight are observed in EE females and LT males. Sleep duration is comparable across the different countries, with women generally sleeping longer than men (p<0.05). Sedentary behavior is shortest among LT females and LV males, although in all countries, females tend to sit more than males (p<0.05). Moderate physical activity (MPA) levels are similar among males, but they are highest among EE females. In contrast, vigorous physical activity (VPA) is most prevalent in LV males and females. Emotional intelligence (EI) is lowest among LV females and EE males, while females consistently exhibit higher EI than males across all countries. Lithuanians frequently rate their health as “excellent” and show the lowest levels of impulsivity. Additionally, depression and stress are lowest in EE females and LV males. Estonians are more likely to eat breakfast regularly and tend to overeat less than their counterparts in LV and LT.Conclusion: Our research clearly shows that perceived health among the Baltic countries is significantly inversely related to age, perceived stress, depression, and Body Mass Index (BMI). In contrast, we found positive associations between vigorous physical activity (VPA) and emotional intelligence (EI).
Keywords: physical activity, Obesity, Subjective health, perceived stress, healthy eating, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania 1 Introduction
Received: 06 Nov 2024; Accepted: 25 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Skurvydas, Valanciene, Lisinskiene, Dadeliene, Sarkauskiene, Fernate, Vazne, Grants, Koka and Majauskiene. 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: Daiva Majauskiene, Vilnius University, Vilnius, LT-01513, Vilnius, Lithuania
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