Section	Item	PRISMA-ScR Checklist Item	Reported on Page #
Title
Title	1	Identify the report as a scoping review.	“Relationship between sedentary lifestyle, physical activity and stress in university students and their life habits: a Scoping Review with PRISMA Checklist (PRISMA-ScR)”
Abstract
Structured summary	2	Provide a structured summary that includes (as applicable): background, objectives, eligibility criteria, sources of evidence, charting methods, results, and conclusions that relate to the review questions and objectives.	Review of the literature on the relationship between physical activity, sedentariness and stress among college students with regard to their lifestyles. The benefits of physical activity in reducing stress and improving mental health strongly present in the literature are highlighted, while identifying the lack of standardized intervention protocols.
Introduction
Rationale	3	Describe the rationale for the review in the context of what is already known. Explain why the review questions/objectives lend themselves to a scoping review approach.	The prevalence of sedentary behaviors among college students poses risks to physical well-being, but special consideration needs to be given to the mental health of this population. This review synthesizes the literature that has emerged on how physical activity can be a means of reducing sedentariness and improving lifestyle by leading to significant reductions in stress and mental distress and promote well-being in this vulnerable population.
Objectives	4	Provide an explicit statement of the questions and objectives being addressed with reference to their key elements (e.g., population or participants, concepts, and context) or other relevant key elements used to conceptualize the review questions and/or objectives.	To explore the correlation between physical activity and stress among college students by analyzing their lifestyles and sedentary levels, identify benefits, and assess the presence of standardized intervention protocols in the literature.
Methods
Protocol and registration	5	Indicate whether a review protocol exists; state if and where it can be accessed (e.g., a Web address); and if available, provide registration information, including the registration number.	This scoping review adheres to the Protocol for Scoping Review [11] using the Prisma Extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist
Eligibility criteria	6	Specify characteristics of the sources of evidence used as eligibility criteria (e.g., years considered, language, and publication status), and provide a rationale.	Studies included were open-access, scientific papers and journal papers in English, published between 2022 and 2024, focusing on university students aged 19–44.
Information sources	7	Describe all information sources in the search (e.g., databases with dates of coverage and contact with authors to identify additional sources), as well as the date the most recent search was executed.	The search was conducted on PubMed and Scopus between September and October 2024, identifying two search managers and one data-mining manager also responsible for resolving any ambiguities.
Search	8	Present the full electronic search strategy for at least 1 database, including any limits used, such that it could be repeated.	Search terms included: “physical activity OR physical exercise OR exercise AND university student OR college student AND stress OR cortisol”. Searches were limited to titles, abstracts, and keywords.
Selection of sources of evidence	9	State the process for selecting sources of evidence (i.e., screening and eligibility) included in the scoping review.	Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles for inclusion based on predefined criteria.
Data charting process	10	Describe the methods of charting data from the included sources of evidence (e.g., calibrated forms or forms that have been tested by the team before their use, and whether data charting was done independently or in duplicate) and any processes for obtaining and confirming data from investigators.	Data were extracted using calibrated forms by two reviewers working independently, with disagreements resolved through consensus.
Data items	11	List and define all variables for which data were sought and any assumptions and simplifications made.	The variables researched were physical activity in correlation with stress or states of mental distress (excluding mental illnesses or disorders), sedentary levels, and lifestyle habits of the university population alone.
Critical appraisal of individual sources of evidence	12	If done, provide a rationale for conducting a critical appraisal of included sources of evidence; describe the methods used and how this information was used in any data synthesis (if appropriate).	A critical appraisal of the individual studies was not conducted, as this is a scoping review.
Synthesis of results	13	Describe the methods of handling and summarizing the data that were charted.	A summary of the results was made, creating macrocategories of the results obtained according to the study design analyzed, and from there the data needed to reach conclusions were extracted.
Results
Selection of sources of evidence	14	Give numbers of sources of evidence screened, assessed for eligibility, and included in the review, with reasons for exclusions at each stage, ideally using a flow diagram.	The included results were 61 from 1208 results that were screened and selected following a first principle of exclusion of duplicates or ineligible papers according to the filters placed. Then 1091 papers that did not fit the inclusion criteria were excluded following the analysis of the abstracts, and finally 43 that were considered eligible in the first instance were excluded because they were not found to be relevant in the analysis of the full paper. This left 61 eligible results according to the following criteria: research area, target population, language, age group, and open access.
Characteristics of sources of evidence	15	For each source of evidence, present characteristics for which data were charted and provide the citations.	A table with exclusion criteria was provided in the paper specifying the reasons for exclusion. A figure with the division of macro areas according to the type of research design was provided in the results section. An appendix was created with the titles of each result, author, methods and instruments used, objectives and outcomes.
Critical appraisal within sources of evidence	16	If done, present data on critical appraisal of included sources of evidence (see item 12).	No compilation required
Results of individual sources of evidence	17	For each included source of evidence, present the relevant data that were charted that relate to the review questions and objectives.	All relevant information can be found in Appendix A, which contains the main outcomes of the studies considered.
Synthesis of results	18	Summarize and/or present the charting results as they relate to the review questions and objectives.	Physical activity consistently shows benefits for stress reduction and mental well-being in college students but with lack of standardized intervention protocols. Studies reports use of yoga, taichi, qigong, mindfulness, resistance training as major choices of intervention.
Discussion
Summary of evidence	19	Summarize the main results (including an overview of concepts, themes, and types of evidence available), link to the review questions and objectives, and consider the relevance to key groups.	Physical activity consistently shows benefits for stress reduction and mental well-being in college students. Lifestyles in particular with the transition to college life particularly affect the change in physical activity levels and the increase in sedentariness. These factors, in addition to academic pressures, increase states of stress and mental unwellness. Regular physical activity programs, increased daily experience of movement in daily life, increased motivation to exercise or sports help to improve stress states, reduce sedentariness, and improve mental and physical well-being. However, the significant presence of studies highlights the lack of standardized intervention protocols limiting the generalizability of results and effective intervention. On the other hand, this leaves room for the cross-cutting nature of daily physical activity and exercise as always effective means of intervention for managing mental and physical well-being status and academic performance in such a fragile population.
Limitations	20	Discuss the limitations of the scoping review process.	The limitations of the present study include the limited number of analyzed results and the exclusion criteria, which focused solely on stress-related studies without incorporating other mental health factors. Furthermore, the study relied on only two databases. Future research could expand its scope to explore broader aspects of mental well-being and concentrate on experimental interventions to better generalize findings and establish a comprehensive intervention protocol.
Conclusions	21	Provide a general interpretation of the results with respect to the review questions and objectives, as well as potential implications and/or next steps.	College students face high levels of stress and mental health risks, compounded by a sedentary lifestyle due to life transitions, academic pressure, and lifestyle changes. Physical activity improves their physical and mental well-being: moderate-vigorous exercise provides immediate stress relief, while resistance training offers long-term benefits. An integrated approach combining different exercises and emotional regulation strategies is recommended. Universities should develop holistic programs to support student well-being.
Funding
Funding	22	Describe sources of funding for the included sources of evidence, as well as sources of funding for the scoping review. Describe the role of the funders of the scoping review.	No external funding was received for the development of this paper.
	JBI = Joanna Briggs Institute; PRISMA-ScR = Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews.