Relationships between physical fitness, health behaviors, and occupational outcomes in students, faculty, and staff of an American university.

Objective: This study examined relationships between physical fitness, health behaviors, and occupational outcomes of university affiliates.

Participants: 166 university affiliates of an American university (including students, faculty, and staff) participated between October 2018 and March 2020.

Methods: Participants completed fitness measurements, wore a device to measure physical activity (PA) and sleep for one week, and completed a survey evaluating happiness and job satisfaction. Multiple regression models evaluated associations between physical fitness, health behaviors, and occupational outcomes.

Results: 45% of participants had "poor" cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and unhealthy % fat. CRF, body composition, and muscular endurance were related to PA while body composition was related to sleep duration. Muscular endurance was related to GPA and job satisfaction.

Conclusions: Findings suggest 45% of university affiliates had deficient physical fitness and may benefit from increasing PA and sleep. Universities should evaluate fitness within holistic programs to improve affiliates' health and, ultimately, occupational success.