The Effect Of Covid-19 On Sedentary Behavior And Physical Activity Levels In College Students.

Abstract

Participating in regular physical activity (PA) has various health benefits including, but not limited to, improved muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness, bone health, and reduces the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, various types of cancer, and depression. Sedentary behavior is associated with increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels, lower self-esteem, social behavior problems, and poor academic achievement. Since the emergence of COVID-19, individuals needed to make various modifications in their daily lives, such as adjusting their levels of physical activity and/or their sedentary behavior. PURPOSE: To understand the effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on physical activity levels and sedentary behavior in college students. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed from two publicly available questionnaires: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the International Sedentary Assessment Tool. The questionnaires were modified to relate to college-aged individuals. Exclusion criteria were participating in any of the university varsity teams, or individuals that suffer a debilitating injury in the past six months. The questionnaires were distributed to students. Nineteen students participated in the study. Paired t-tests were used to determine the effects of COVID-19 on physical activity levels and sedentary behavior in college students, alpha level was set to 0.05. RESULTS: Significant increase in mean hours per week (hr/wk) spent in sedentary behavior was identified (p = 0.04). Students spent less hr/wk in sedentary behavior before COVID 19 (114.2 (50.9)) then during (139.2 (54.6)). No significant differences were found between the other dependent variables before and during COVID 19 respectively: vigorous PA 12.9 (13.9) hr/wk vs. 12.5 (11.6) hr/wk, (p = 0.882); moderate PA 15.4 (15.4) hr/wk vs, 12.5 (10.6) hr/wk, (p = 0.460); walking 19.1 (23.1) hr/wk vs. 11.8 (12.9) hr/wk, (p = 0.085); total time for PA 47.5 (42.3) hr/wk vs. 36.8 (25.8) hr/wk, (p = 0.288). CONCLUSION: The study identified a trend of decrease in physical activity levels and a significant increase in sedentary behavior during COVID-19 for these college students.