Rui Meng,1 Zhiqing Hu,2,3 Ke Shen,4 Yiping Wang,1 Qiran Cao,5 Yueming Ding,2,3 Yuan He1 

1School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, People’s Republic of China; 2Institute of Medical Humanities, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Marxism, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Health Policy & Management, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, People’s Republic of China; 5School of Education Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, 221116, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Yuan He, School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Room K205, No. 101 Longmian Avenue, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 211166, People’s Republic of China, Email heyuan@njmu.edu.cn

Objective: This study aims to investigate the associations between future, present-hedonistic, and present-fatalistic time perspectives (TP) and body mass index (BMI) among college students, and to examine whether self-control and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption mediate these relationships.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jiangsu Province, China, involving 920 college students. The survey collected data on participants’ height, weight, future TP, present-hedonistic TP, present-fatalistic TP, self-control, and SSB consumption. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was employed to identify potential covariates, and three chain mediation models were analyzed using the PROCESS macro (Model 6) in SPSS version 26.
Results: The results indicated that future TP was negatively associated with BMI (β = − 0.23, 95% CI = [− 3.81, − 2.24]), and present-hedonistic TP showed a positive association (β = 0.18, 95% CI = [1.47, 2.73]). Present-fatalistic TP was not significantly related to BMI. Furthermore, self-control and SSB consumption mediated the relationships between future TP, present-hedonistic TP, present-fatalistic TP, and BMI (β = − 0.02, 95% CI [− 0.04, − 0.01]; β = 0.02, 95% CI [0.01, 0.02]); β = 0.02, 95% CI = [0.01, 0.02]).
Conclusion: TP, self-control, and SSB consumption are important factors associated with BMI among college students. Promoting a future-oriented TP and self-control, while reducing present-oriented TP and SSB intake, may support more effective BMI management. These findings offer theoretical implications for designing targeted health interventions.

Keywords: time perspective, self-control, sugar-sweetened beverage, college students, weight gain