1. Introduction
obesity, cancers, community-, anxiety, chronic illness, pulmonary diseases, diabetes
OBESITY, CANCERS, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, DISEASE, CHRONIC ILLNESS, PULMONARY DISEASES, DISEASE, DIABETES
This study explored the effects of an 8-week peer coaching program on physical activity (PA), diet, sleep, social isolation, and mental health among college students in the United States. A total of 52 college students were recruited and randomized to the coaching (n = 28) or the control group (n = 24). The coaching group met with a trained peer health coach once a week for 8 weeks focusing on self-selected wellness domains. Coaching techniques included reflective listening, motivational interviews, and goal setting. The control group received a wellness handbook. PA, self-efficacy for eating healthy foods, quality of sleep, social isolation, positive affect and well-being, anxiety, and cognitive function were measured. No interaction effects between time and group were significant for the overall intervention group (all According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [College is a critical lifetime transition period for young adults to develop and independently practice healthy behaviors [The previous literature has documented the evidence of lifestyle interventions as a public health strategy to prevent and manage chronic illness [The use of health coaching has become widespread in recent years and its effectiveness in promoting health behavior practices has been well supported by the available evidence [Colleges and universities are ideal settings to improve well-being among young adults. Behavioral interventions in college settings have the potential to reach a larger group of young adults. Colleges and universities also provide a unique opportunity for students with health-related majors to be trained and serve as the health coaches for their peers. Peer support is reported to be particularly important in health promotion programs among youth and young adults [Previous health coaching studies have primarily focused on physiological outcomes (i.e., blood pressure, HbA1c, blood glucose, cholesterol, BMI, or body weight), while behavioral outcomes were often disregarded [In addition, prior health coaching studies have primarily targeted participants with certain types of disease or chronic conditions, such as cancers, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and pulmonary diseases [In response to the nationwide call for more community- and evidence-based programs to improve population health, the research team designed this pilot program to gather scientific evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of the peer health coaching program in the college campus setting. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a randomized, 8-week peer health coaching program on PA, nutrition, sleep, social isolation, and mental health, among college students. 