Background: Investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both physical activity (PA) and mental health is important to demonstrate the need for interventions. This study examined the apparent impact of the pandemic on college students’ PA, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. Methods: From 2015 through 2020, data were collected at the beginning and end of the spring semester at a large Northeastern US university via an online survey assessing student demographics, PA, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. Mixed ANOVA examined differences in PA and mental health changes over the spring semester between “normal” and COVID-19 circumstances. Two-way ANOVA examined the interaction between circumstance and changes in PA in relation to changes in mental health. Results: Participants (n = 1019) were predominately women and non-Hispanic white. There was a significant decline in PA and an increase in perceived stress under COVID-19, but not normal, circumstances and a significant increase in depressive symptoms under COVID-19, but not normal, circumstances among women. Conclusions: A significant decline in PA and mental health among college students occurred under COVID-19 circumstances, and PA did not appear to protect against deterioration in mental health. Proactive and innovative policies, programs, and practices to promote student health and well-being must be explored immediately.

Many young adults in the United States (U.S.) moved from college accommodations to live with their parents/family during the Spring 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While alcohol consumption fluctuates during a typical semester among students, the impact of the sudden changes stemming from the pandemic on students’ alcohol consumption patterns is unclear. To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college student alcohol consumption while accounting for legal drinking age and living situation. Data were collected from students (n = 302) at a large, northeastern U.S. university at the beginning and end of the of the 2019 and 2020 Spring semesters via an online survey that assessed socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, living situation) and alcohol consumption using the daily drinking questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a 2 (cohort group: COVID-19 vs. normal) × 2 (age group: above 21 vs. under 21) × 2 (time: beginning vs. end of the semester) mixed model ANOVA. There was a significant three-way interaction. Students over the legal drinking age impacted by the pandemic demonstrated a drastic decrease in alcohol consumption by the end of the semester compared to those under normal circumstances. Change in living situation as a result of the pandemic drastically impacted the alcohol consumption patterns of students over the legal drinking age. Suggestions for future research on the continuing effects of the pandemic on students are discussed.

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OBJECTIVE-To investigate directionality of the association between alcohol use and physical activity in a college student sample, longitudinally across three time points. PARTICIPANTS-396 undergraduate students from a large university in the United States (62% women). METHODS-Self-report data of alcohol use and physical activity were collected at three timepoints with 3-month lags between waves. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling was used to disentangle within-and between-person effects. RESULTS-Despite no significant between-person effects, there were significant cross-lagged paths from alcohol use to vigorous physical activity at the within-person level. Specifically, when individuals consumed more alcohol than normal at earlier timepoints, they reported more subsequent vigorous physical activity at 3-month follow-ups. CONCLUSIONS-We provide evidence that alcohol use may positively predict later physical activity in college students over the course of a school year. These findings advance theoretical understanding of how these two health behaviors are linked using sophisticated methods.

Aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening activities are beneficial to both physical and mental health, though disparities in these behaviors exist based on social determinants. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in college students' aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening activities based on gender, race, and sexual orientation. Undergraduates enrolled in general education health and wellness courses at a large northeastern University in the United States responded to an online survey in August 2018 that assessed their demographics and physical activity behaviors. Differences in physical activity behaviors based on social determinants were examined using independent-samples t-tests and chi-square tests for independence. Less than half (40.3%) of participants (n = 606) met both aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening recommendations. No differences were found in physical activity based on sexual orientation. However, significantly more non-Hispanic white participants met aerobic physical activity (74.4% vs. 63.8%) and muscle-strengthening recommendations (47.2% vs. 37.6%); and, men reported significantly greater vigorous physical activity (p = .034, η2 = 0.01) and participation in muscle-strengthening activities (p < .001, η2 = 0.06), and were more likely to meet muscle-strengthening recommendations compared to women (50.8% vs. 41.4%). Findings demonstrate disparities in physical activity based on race and sex, particularly with respect to muscle-strengthening activities. Findings are of concern given the importance of muscle-strengthening activities to both physical and mental health. Colleges should consider ways in which they can facilitate increased participation of racial/ethnic minorities and women in muscle-strengthening activities.

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Background: The purpose of this scoping review was to critically examine the design and quality of contemporary research involving college student physical activity participation, focusing on physical activity measurement, assessment of sociodemographic characteristics, and examination of inequities based on sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in 4 electronic databases. Results: From 28,951 sources screened, data were extracted from 488 that met the inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies were cross-sectional in design (91.4%) and employed convenience sampling methods (83.0%). Based on the subsample of studies that reported the percentage of students meeting aerobic (n = 158; equivalent of 150 min/wk of moderate physical activity) and muscle-strengthening activity recommendations (n = 8; ≥2 times/wk), 58.7% and 47.8% of students met aerobic and muscle-strengthening recommendations, respectively. With the exception of age and sex, sociodemographic characteristics were rarely assessed, and inequities based upon them were even more scarcely examined—with no apparent increase in reporting over the past decade. Conclusions: College student physical activity levels remain concerningly low. The generalizability of findings from the contemporary literature is limited due to study design, and acknowledgement of the influence that sociodemographic characteristics have on physical activity has largely been overlooked. Recommendations for future research directions and practices are provided.

Insight into the unique benefits of sport participation above and beyond those associated with participation in other physical activities among adolescents is limited in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between wellbeing and organised sport participation among adolescents whilst accounting for demographic characteristics and other recreational physical activity. Demographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, deprivation, (dis)ability status), organized sport, recreational physical activity, and wellbeing were assessed in cohorts of NZ adolescents (11–17 years) between 2017 and 2019. After adjusting for demographics, better wellbeing was associated with participation in any recreational physical activity (OR = 2.49, 95%CI = 1.97–3.13), meeting physical activity recommendations (OR = 1.63, 95%CI = 1.47–1.81), and each additional hour of recreational physical activity (OR = 1.03, 95%CI = 1.02–1.04). After adjusting for demographics and overall recreational physical activity participation, better wellbeing was also associated with participation in any organized sport (OR = 1.66, 95%CI = 1.49–1.86), and each additional hour of organized sport (OR = 1.09, 95%CI = 1.07–1.11). Although participation in recreational physical activity appears to be beneficial for wellbeing, organized sport appears to offer unique additional wellbeing benefits. Positive experiences of organized sport participation may offer additional wellbeing value above and beyond other recreational physical activity types in young people who are active.