Abstract
This study investigated the changes in physical inactivity of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic, with reference to their academic calendar. We used the daily step counts recorded by a smartphone application (iPhone Health App) from April 2020 to January 2021 (287 days) for 603 participants. The data for 287 days were divided into five periods based on their academic calendar. The median value of daily step counts across each period was calculated. A k-means clustering analysis was performed to classify the 603 participants into subgroups to demonstrate the variability in the physical inactivity responses. The median daily step counts, with a 7-day moving average, dramatically decreased from 5000 to 2000 steps/day in early April. It remained at a lower level (less than 2000 steps/day) during the first semester, then increased to more than 5000 steps/day at the start of summer vacation. The clustering analysis demonstrated the variability in physical inactivity responses. The inactive students did not recover daily step counts throughout the year. Consequently, promoting physical activity is recommended for inactive university students over the course of the whole semester.
Highlights
Introduction iationsThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has severely affected daily life activities around the world
Our study aimed to examine the variations in physical inactivity during the COVID19 pandemic, with respect to the academic calendar of the participating students
Our data show that the daily step count was greatly influenced by the university academic calendar and governmental restrictive measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has severely affected daily life activities around the world. Governments worldwide have enacted restrictive measures to reduce the risk of infection. The restrictions have led to physical inactivity, which increases the risk for noncommunicable diseases [1]. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, physical inactivity had been recognized as a global contributor to the development of chronic non-communicable diseases [2]. The worldwide prevalence of physical inactivity has been reported to be 27.5%. The influence of COVID-19 on physical activity has been reported and summarized in systematic reviews [1,4]. Physical activity has been reported to be reduced across all reviewed populations due to the restrictive measures introduced during COVID-19 [1]. Physical activity has been reported to be Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
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