Assessing Health Trends of College Students using Smartphones

Abstract

Health, fitness, and overall wellbeing of college students depend on a variety of factors and a greater understanding of these factors will ensure that health and wellness interventions directed at students are effective. The widespread use of smartphones provides an opportunity to continuously track students and assess their behaviors and habits, such as mobility trends, social interactions, and academic activities. In this work, we analyze data collected from almost 200 students over three semesters and examine how health and mobility habits differ between Spring semester and Fall semester and how they are impacted by academic and social events. Our analysis shows that social events such as football games increase the students' mobility, but also decrease their usage of athletic facilities. In our study, students are significantly less mobile during the Spring semester compared to the Fall semester and their visits to athletic and spiritual places reduce significantly during exam times. Students' mobility is positively correlated with social event count; however, visits to athletic places are negatively correlated with event count and evening events have the strongest correlation with both mobility and visits to athletic places. These findings will provide useful guidelines for the design of interventions that aim to increase students' mobility and healthy choices during times when attention to health and wellness may suffer otherwise.