Physical activity and sedentary behavior in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the study routine and physical activity of Physical Education students. The study included, by convenience sampling, 721 undergraduate Physical Education students from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. For data collection, a questionnaire containing questions about sample characterization, study routine and characteristics of physical activity before and during social distancing/isolation was used. This instrument was made available by Google Forms, between April 13th and May 31st of 2020. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found that 35% of the students had their studies completely interrupted and 27.9% of them reported an increase in their load of study routine activities. The time spent on television went from one to two hours a day (47.7%) to up to four hours (63.7%), with women having greater screen time for television (> 3h / day; p = 0.027) during the pandemic period. There was an increase from 3.1% to 18.7% of students who were not practicing any physical activity. Those who remained active decreased the number of days of weekly practice and the average time per session (p < 0.001). Thus, it is necessary to think about strategies to increase and maintain the levels of physical activity, as means of protection and reduction of health damages, caused by the infection of the new coronavirus and by the social distancing/isolation imposed to reduce the transmission of the virus.

Atividade física e fatores associados durante a pandemia de COVID-19 em universitários brasileiros: revisão de escopo

“…The studies analyzed in this review sought to identify the level of physical activity and associated factors among Brazilian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the relationships between the levels of physical activity and mental health [27][28][29][30] , sleep 28,31,32 and sedentary behavior [33][34][35][36][37] were investigated.…”

“…In general, the Brazilian scientific studies analyzed revealed that between 40.0% and 49.3% of university students did not reach the minimum weekly time of physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization during the pandemic 27,[29][30][31][32][33]36,37 . Another trend observed was the significant increase in the prevalence of physical inactivity comparing before and during the social isolation measures.…”

“…The sedentary behavior of the university students evaluated intensified during the critical moments of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased screen time and prolonged use of computer/smartphone or similar devices were the sedentary behaviors most mentioned in the studies [35][36][37] . The average sitting time rose by at least four hours a day 35,36 , exceeding eight hours in some cas-es 27 .…”

“…The average sitting time rose by at least four hours a day 35,36 , exceeding eight hours in some cas-es 27 . Moreover, an increase in academic activities contributed to sedentary behavior 37 .…”

Qualidade de vida, aspectos sociodemográficos, atividade física e saúde de universitárias do sul da Bahia durante a pandemia da COVID-19

“…Vale destacar que a prevalência mencionada em ambos os estudos leva em consideração homens e mulheres. Santos e colaboradores identificaram uma redução no nível de atividade física de universitárias durante a pandemia quando comparado ao período pré-pandemia [22]. No mesmo sentido, o estudo conduzido pela Fiocruz em colaboração com universidades brasileiras, encontrou alta incidência de inatividade física na população adulta brasileira (70,4%) sendo maior em mulheres (74,6%) durante a pandemia [5].…”