Research report: The relationship between smartphone addiction, Mediterranean diet adherence, body composition, and quality of life among university students: a cross-sectional study

More than four in ten university students at a Turkish university screened as being at risk of smartphone addiction, and those with higher addiction scores reported poorer quality of life, weaker pinch strength, and higher body fat percentage, according to a cross-sectional study published in BMC Public Health. The study surveyed 302 undergraduate students at Mardin Artuklu University between May 10 and October 31, 2025. Participants completed a sociodemographic form, the Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Form (SAS-SV), the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), and the Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36), from which an overall quality-of-life score was derived as the mean of the eight SF-36 domain scores.

Using the gender-specific SAS-SV screening thresholds of 31 or higher for males and 33 or higher for females, 41.7 percent of the students met the criterion for being at risk of smartphone addiction. This is a screening classification rather than a clinical diagnosis, but it indicates that a substantial share of the surveyed cohort reported patterns of smartphone use consistent with addictive behavior as defined by the scale. The correlation analysis revealed a clear pattern.

Higher smartphone addiction scores were associated with lower quality of life, a relationship that was statistically significant at the p < 0.01 level. Addiction scores also correlated negatively with dominant pinch strength and positively with body fat percentage, both at the p < 0.05 level. The strongest correlation in the entire dataset was not between smartphone use and any physical measure, but between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and quality of life, with a correlation coefficient of 0.385 (p < 0.01).

To disentangle the independent contributions of each variable, the researchers conducted a hierarchical linear regression analysis. In that model, quality of life (p < 0.001), dominant pinch strength (p = 0.009), and body fat percentage (p = 0.018) were each independently associated with smartphone addiction scores. In other words, even after accounting for the other variables, students with poorer quality of life, weaker pinch strength, and higher body fat percentage tended to score higher on the addiction scale.

The logistic regression analysis, which used the gender-specific cutoff points to classify students as at risk or not at risk, told a slightly more nuanced story. Higher quality of life was associated with a lower likelihood of being at risk for smartphone addiction, with an odds ratio of 0.967 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.950 to 0.985; p < 0.001). Higher dominant pinch strength was also associated with lower odds of addiction risk, with an odds ratio of 0.935 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.875 to 0.998; p = 0.042).

Notably, the association between body fat percentage and addiction risk that appeared in the correlation and linear regression analyses was not observed in this logistic model, indicating that the finding was not robust across all analytical approaches. Several technical limitations shape how these results should be read. The cross-sectional design means the data capture a single point in time, so no causal direction can be established: poor quality of life and physical weakness could plausibly drive heavier smartphone use just as easily as the reverse.

The authors also note that the explanatory power of the regression models was limited, meaning that most of the variation in smartphone addiction scores was explained by factors not included in the analysis. Furthermore, body mass index showed no association with smartphone addiction in this cohort, which the researchers interpret as evidence that body composition measures such as body fat percentage and pinch strength may capture physical correlates that BMI alone misses in young adults. The study's conclusions are deliberately measured.

The authors state that the findings should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects, and they position body composition and pinch strength measurements as complementary tools that may provide information beyond BMI when examining the physical correlates of smartphone addiction in young adults. For students, universities, and health professionals, the practical takeaway is that smartphone addiction risk in this population clustered with subjective well-being and physical performance measures, while diet adherence followed its own separate track.

Subject of Research: Associations between smartphone addiction, Mediterranean diet adherence, body composition, and quality of life among university students

Article Title: The relationship between smartphone addiction, Mediterranean diet adherence, body composition, and quality of life among university students: a cross-sectional study

Article References: Akçalı, Ç., Özyurt, M., & Korkmaz, A. (2026). The relationship between smartphone addiction, Mediterranean diet adherence, body composition, and quality of life among university students: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-29889-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-29889-3

Keywords: smartphone addiction, university students, quality of life, Mediterranean diet, body composition, body fat percentage, pinch strength, SF-36, SAS-SV, cross-sectional study, bioelectrical impedance, BMC Public Health