Does experiencing a major life event influence physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake in Australian adults? A cross-sectional study

Physical activity and a healthy diet are essential for general health and wellbeing. Major life events and associated emotional responses may be the underlying determinants of physical inactivity and poor diet. To explore the effect of recently experienced major life events on physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake in Australian adults, this study used cross-sectional data (N = 658) from an online survey conducted in 2022-2023. Chi-squared test was used to assess the relationship between sociodemographic factors, the experience of a major life event in the past 14 days, and negative affect, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake in the previous 7 days. Multivariate logistic regression examined if experiencing life events would predict the likelihood of being physically inactive and consuming insufficient amounts of fruit and vegetables. Fifty-three percent of the participants reported having experienced at least one major life event. Participants who experienced major life events were more likely to be inactive than those who did not (48.4% vs. 38.8%; <i>p</i> = 0.013), whereas fruit and vegetable intake was not associated with major life events or negative affect (fruit intake: 44.2% vs. 40.4%; <i>p</i> = 0.329, vegetable intake: 80.7% vs. 79.5%; <i>p</i> = 0.713). Experiencing a major life event might have an impact on physical activity, but not on fruit and vegetable intake. Future studies should consider investigating the relationship between major life events and behavioral patterns.