This study explores the relationship between body composition metrics, self-compassion, and social support among college students. Using seasonal body composition data from the InBody770 system and psychometric measures from the Lived Experiences Measured Using Rings Study (LEMURS) (n=156; freshmen=66, sophomores=90), Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) reveals body composition metrics exhibit moderate correlation with self-compassion and social support. Certain physiological and psychological features showed strong and consistent relationships with well-being across the academic year. Trunk and leg impedance stood out as key physiological indicators, while mindfulness, over-identification, affectionate support, and tangible support emerged as recurring psychological and social correlates. This demonstrates that body composition metrics can serve as valuable biomarkers for indicating self-perceived psychosocial well-being, offering insights for future research on scalable mental health modeling and intervention strategies.
@article{arxiv.2602.18467,
title = {Identifying Body Composition Measures That Correlate with Self-Compassion and Social Support},
author = {Enerson Poon and Mikaela Irene Fudolig and Johanna E. Hidalgo and Bryn C. Loftness and Kathryn Stanton and Connie L. Tompkins and Laura S. P. Bloomfield and Matthew Price and Peter Sheridan Dodds and Christopher M. Danforth and Nick Cheney},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.18467},
year = {2026}
}