1. Introduction
obesity, colon and breast cancers, anxiety, Mental disorders, depressive symptoms, depression, diabetes
OBESITY, ISCHAEMIC HEART DISEASE, CHRONIC DISEASES, DISORDERS, METABOLIC SYNDROME, HYPERTENSION, DISEASES, DIABETES
Physical inactivity has increased globally, particularly in developed nations. A high proportion of the human population is unable to meet the physical activity recommendation of the World Health Organisation due to hypertension, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and other medical conditions. Non-communicable diseases and mental health problems are becoming more prevalent, particularly in low and middle-income nations. This study aimed to determine the effectivenessof a mentorship programmeon university students’ mental health and physical fitness. The intervention comprised the effects of sports-based development and education on physical fitness and mental health. A total of 196 and 234 students from two universities were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups, respectively. The primary outcomes were engagement in physical activities (number of push-ups for 1 min, the strength of hand grip (kg), and the Jump test while standing (cm)), body fat proportion and psychological resilience, self-efficacy, and relationship with family and schoolmates. Participants in the control group had access to a web-based health education game, whereas the intervention group wassubjected to intensive interventional activities for one month based on the eight principles of the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. Data were analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to compare the physical and mental components between the intervention and control groups. Relative to baseline, all the physical health components (push-ups, sit-ups, and jump tests), psychological resilience, relationship with family members, and self-efficacy increased significantly in the intervention compared to the control group. Body fat composition was significantly reduced in the intervention when compared tothe control group. In conclusion, the mentorship programme effectively improved the participants’ physical and psychological health and could be developed further for application in a larger population.Physical activity is defined as “any bodily movement that occurs with energy consumption using our muscles and joints” [Physical inactivity is a common risk factor for chronic diseases [Specifically, physical inactivity is considered the main cause of 20–25% of colon and breast cancers, 30% of ischaemic heart disease, and 27% of diabetes [Mental health issues are now a major concern in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The incidence of mental disorders is increasing at an alarming rateas more people are moving to cities with and are therefore being exposed to several risk factors fordeveloping anxiety [The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also heightened the risk of mental disorders, as factors such as social isolation—studying and working at home, reduced physical interaction and contact with other individuals may be strong psychological stressors [Mental disorders and other consequences of physical inactivity are profound in children, especially during adolescence [Overall, physical exercise appears to offer benefits in reducing anxiety and depression scores in children and adolescents, but it is difficult to draw firm conclusions due to the limited number of research findings, the clinical diversity of participants, interventions, and measurement methods [It is critical to ascertain whether reducing depressive symptoms may be achieved with a non-medication treatment, especially in light of recent concerns regarding the long and short-term safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other antidepressants [Reviews of the Intervention Impacts on Physical Fitness and Mental HealthThe sport-for-development intervention was the Gum Marom Kids League (GMKL), a society programme that ran for 11 weeks [The sport-for-development infrastructure positsthat sports benefit society and health [