Association of Positive Psychological Wellbeing and BMI with Physical and Mental Health among College Students

Anxiety and depression have been documented as top mental health issues that impede college students’ academic performance National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI] [1]; Pedrelli, Nyer, Yeung, Zulauf, and Wilens, [2]. More than 80% of college students have felt overwhelmed by college-related tasks and more than 50% have felt extremely anxious about their academic struggles in the past year. Also, 31% have felt too depressed to function well in schools NAMI [1]. 64% college students who had mental health problems withdrew from the university. 50% did not seek out mental health services and request accommodations NAMI [1]. Given the prevalence and severity of mental health problems faced by college students and their hesitation and reluctance to seek professional mental health services, there is a critical need for exploring an alternative approach to a primary prevention and treatment Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi [3]; Wood, Froh and Geraghty [4] .