Digital Tai Chi Intervention on Physical Fitness, Anxiety, Depression and Stress Among College Students

Research indicates a substantial increase in the rates of anxiety, depression and stress among college students (Roy, Biswas, \& Sharma, 2025). These symptoms significantly are related to poor physical health, low quality of life, poor academic performance, poor relationships, and future opportunities (Man, Li, Lin, Yu-Chi, \& Chan, 2025; Roy et al., 2025). Meanwhile, physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles often result in declined physical fitness (S. Cai et al., 2025; R. X. Li et al., 2025). Chinese college students face increasingly serious physical and mental health problems. Therefore, this population is highly relevant and meaningful for health intervention research. Tai Chi has a unique effect in promoting physical and mental health. Studies have shown that Tai Chi exercise can promote heart and lung function, improve body composition, enhance muscle strength and endurance, increase flexibility and balance ability (Easwaran et al., 2021; Guo et al., 2016), reduce stress levels, and alleviate psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression, benefiting physical, emotional and social functions (Q. Cai et al., 2022). However, most existing studies focus on the effects of Tai Chi on the physical and mental health of middle-aged, elderly, and chronically ill populations (Chen, Hunt, Campbell, Peill, \& Reid, 2016; Qi et al., 2023; Zeng et al., 2023). Empirical evidence for its intervention effects among college students is limited (Qi, Soh, Nasirudddin, \& Mai, 2022), especially from randomized controlled trials, and evidence on the brain mechanisms of such effects is gap (Jin, Chen, \& Zhang, 2026). And, Tai Chi is a complex form of exercise, and it is difficult for beginners to master it completely and to stick to it ( Wang, J., \& Zhang, Y. C. , 2023). Its health benefits are also hard to be manifested and maintained. Moreover, the slow and gentle movement patterns of Tai Chi make it difficult to attract college students to fully engage in the pract