Practice Of Physical Activity Research Articles

Effect of an after-school physical activity program on physical fitness and academic performance of socioeconomically vulnerable children

Aim: To promote the practice of physical activity (PA) after school hours and verify the effects on the physical fitness and academic performance of children with socioeconomic vulnerability. Methods: The non-randomized experimental study was carried out in a school in a vulnerable area. Eighteen children performed 60 minutes of moderate-vigorous PA and 15 minutes of circuit exercise (muscle and bone strengthening) three times a week. The control group (n=10) only had school physical education as a weekly PA routine. To assess the program's impact, physical aptitude tests (pre- and post-test) were carried out in accordance with the recommendations of PROESP-Br and the School Performance Test, which assesses learning in three categories: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Results: Abdominal strength, flexibility, sprint, and lower limb power increased (d-Cohen>0.20). Regarding academic performance, the effect was moderate (d-Cohen>0.50) for reading and total scores. The effect size was small (d-Cohen<0.50) for arithmetic and writing. Conclusion: An after-school PA program positively impacts physical fitness and academic performance in socioeconomically vulnerable children. The level of impact varies between small and medium according to different physical fitness capacities. School is an enabling environment for children to meet the World Health Organization PA recommendations.

24-Hour Movement Guidelines: Descriptive Study with Overweight and Obese Low-Income Children

Objective: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines among overweight and obese (OW/OB) children from low-income conditions and compare this prevalence by gender, age, and body mass index (BMI) classification. Methods: Accelerometer-based physical activity (PA), self-report sleep duration (SD), and screen time (ST) were analyzed in 72 OW/OB eight to 12 years old children (21 girls) from low-income conditions. Results: None of the participants met the recommendations for all three behaviors, and only 9.3% met for two behaviors simultaneously. Recommendations for PA, SD, and ST were met for 18.5%, 51.5%, and 4.9% of children, respectively. The prevalence of meeting the recommendation for SD was higher (p=.027) in younger participants (≤10 years old , 65.7%) than for the older ones (>10 years old, 37.5%). Conclusion: None of OW/OB low-income children met the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. These results appoint for the urgent attention of health and education professionals in order to include opportunities for PA practice and knowledge about sleep and sedentary behaviors in future interventions.

The Relationship Between Policy Strength and Physical Activity Practices in Arizona Public Elementary Schools.

Many school-based physical activity statutes and regulations have been enacted, with the expectation that schools will comply. However, policy alone does not equate to implementation, and many policies fail for a variety of reasons. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the strength of reported state, district, and school-level physical activity policies were associated with reported recess, physical education, and other school-based physical activity practices at elementary schools in Arizona. A modified Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program(CSPAP) Questionnaire was administered to staff at elementary schools across Arizona (N = 171). Summative indices of the number of school physical activity policies and best practices at the state, district, and school levels were created. Relationships between policy strength and best practices were examined using linear regression analyses stratified by recess, physical education, and other school-based physical activity practices. Stronger physical activity-related policies were associated with a greater number of recess (F1,142 = 9.87, P < .05), physical education (F4,148 = 4.58, P < .05, Adj. R2 = .09), and other school-based physical activity (F4,148 = 4.04, P < .05, Adj. R2 = .07) best practices at all levels while controlling for school-level demographic factors. The strength of policies may improve opportunities for comprehensive physical activity for children in schools. Strengthening policy language (eg,specifying duration and frequency) may contribute to better physical activity practices in schools, improving children's health at the population level.

Civil servants’ physical activity status and its associated factors in Northeast Ethiopia: applying Health Belief Model

BackgroundIdentifying the associated factors of the physical activity of civil servants is necessary to increase the practice of physical activity. However, limited studies addressed associated factors of civil servants’ physical...

What Kind of Interpersonal Need-Supportive or Need-Thwarting Teaching Style Is More Associated With Positive Consequences in Physical Education?

Purpose: Based on a multilevel approach (individual and class level), this study aimed to test which need-supportive/thwarting teaching styles were more closely associated with students’ motivation and other positive physical education (PE) out-of-school consequences. Method: Participants were 654 primary (n = 385) and secondary (n = 269) PE students (Mage = 11.96 ± 1.95; boys = 317 and girls = 337). Results: The three need-supportive teaching behaviors were related to autonomous motivation, PE importance and usefulness, and the intentions to practice physical activity at the individual level; the role of competence support at both individual and class levels is highlighted. Competence-thwarting style was also negatively related to autonomous motivation at both levels, and jointly to relatedness-thwarting behaviors positively to a motivation at the individual level. Conclusion: Our results provide insight into how the specific type of interpersonal styles adopted by teachers can be decisive to achieve positive PE outcomes in and out of school.

A Pedagogical Strategy Applied in Physical Education to Encourage Sustainable Physical Activity

It is known that the practice of physical activity (PA) drops off drastically in late adolescence, during the transition to adulthood, leading to a deterioration in physical fitness among post-secondary students. Given the importance of the consequences of physical inactivity, interventions aimed at the sustained adoption of sufficient PA practice must be developed. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of a pedagogical strategy based on the question-behavior effect (QBE) implemented in the final post-secondary physical education and health (PEH) course and that capitalizes on the benefits derived from PA. An iterative, self-reflective exercise involving the personal benefits derived from PA practiced in PEH class was tested among 496 students (mean age: 19.10 [SD: 2.42]) from 15 post-secondary institutions and divided into three groups: self-reflection on benefits and on PA practiced (Group A; n = 152), self-reflection on PA practiced (Group B; n = 142), no self-reflection (Group C; n = 210). Two measurements of weekly PA practiced outside the school setting were taken: one week before the start of the final semester of PEH, and then six months after the end of that semester. In particular, the results indicate that PA practice outside of school increased among participants in Group A and that the proportion of students who were inactive at Time 1 who became active at Time 2 was higher in Group A. Thus, it appears that repeated awareness of the personal benefits of practicing PA in PEH class promotes engagement in PA done outside of class.

Sleep quality, sedentary behavior and cardiovascular risk in young adults

Sleep is an essential process for maintaining the body's essential biological functions, and disorders associated with it can cause various health problems, including cardiovascular disorders. The practice of physical activity comprises one of the most beneficial habits for a correct sleep regulation, improving its duration and depth. However, the cycle that involves the practice of physical activities, quality of sleep and cardiovascular diseases needs further elucidation, therefore, the objective of this work was to compare and correlate the quality of sleep with the risk of developing Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS), and the practice of physical activities, as well as cardiovascular diseases. For this, we carried out a cross-sectional, observational, prospective, epidemiological study, in which volunteers of both sexes, aged between 20 and 50 years, were evaluated regarding anthropometry, questioned using questionnaires on cardiovascular risk, sleep quality (Pittsburgh), presence of OSAS (Berlin) and physical activity practice (IPAQ) and had their lipid profiles evaluated. Comparisons and correlations between variables were established by different statistical analyzes (using p values ≤0.05). Volunteers with poor sleep quality had a higher BMI value, sum of four folds and body fat, less time of vigorous physical activity and lower HDL value, as well as a positive correlation with systolic blood pressure, waist-to-height ratio and risk of developing of SAOS. Volunteers at high risk of developing OSAS had higher values for SBP, DBP, BMI, waist/height ratio, sum of four folds and less time of vigorous physical activity, in addition to a positive correlation with poor sleep quality, total cholesterol and LDL. Thus, we conclude that volunteers classified as having poor sleep quality and high risk for OSAS practice physical activities less frequently and with reduced load, in addition to presenting higher values in the variables of the cardiac, anthropometric and lipid profiles, indicating a greater cardiovascular risk.

Assessment of Lifestyle, Eating Habits and the Effect of Nutritional Education among Undergraduate Students in Southern Italy

Background: The years spent at university represent a critical period that can influence both the quality of lifestyle and the eating habits of subsequent adulthood, and also, in the long term, the health of the individual. The aim of this study was to investigate the lifestyle of university students living away from home. Methods: Each subject recruited for the study was given a questionnaire to obtain general information, eating habits and physical activity levels before (T0) and after six month of training seminars (T1). Blood pressure, body composition and questionnaire responses were investigated. Results: The main findings of this study are a significant decrement in blood pressure; an increment in physical activity practice; an increased number of subjects who pay attention to the calorific value of food and also an improvement in BIA parameters. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study demonstrated the challenges that university students face in leading a healthy lifestyle and caring for their nutritional needs, particularly when they are away from their families. No intervention specifically targets young adults, even though much emphasis is placed on the promotion of a healthy lifestyle based on a varied and balanced diet and sufficient exercise. Our study showed that it is possible to improve lifestyle through educational events aimed at making students aware of the health risks deriving from unhealthy lifestyles.

Evaluation of eating habits and practice of physical activity in colorectal cancer patients in the active phase of treatment

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent in men and women, and its development is associated with several risk factors, such as a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, alcohol consumption, and eating habits. This study aimed to present the results of applying the questionnaire on eating habits and physical activity from the Food Guide: how to have a healthy diet in the first chemotherapy session, after signing the consent form, and eight weeks after the first application. All patients with colorectal cancer under active treatment from July to December 2022 were invited to participate in the study. The Ethics Committee approved this project. During the research, patients underwent a new monitoring model that included the use of a chatbot and wearable device for eight weeks. The model aimed to ensure greater patient engagement with their treatment through interactions about symptoms and adverse effects, eating habits, and physical activity practice. As a result, there was a statistical reduction in the consumption of alcoholic beverages and fast foods and a statistical increase in fruit consumption. In addition, the findings indicate that the model contributed to a greater practice of physical activity by patients. For future work, we suggest applying this model to patients with other types of cancer to assess and extend the benefits of the model in different contexts of cancer treatment.

Has COVID-19 lowered physical activity practice while boosting online searches for professional exercise information?

COVID-19 is an infectious and contagious disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Due to the rapid spreading of the virus and its lethal consequences, the WHO declared a pandemic. One of the main strategies to treat and prevent the spreading was the stay home safe, a social isolation situation that was accompanied by the closing of fitness gyms, city parks and facilities proper to exercise. This context promoted an increase in home fitness programs and in the search for information online regarding exercise and health. So, the objective of this study was to understand the effects of the pandemic on physical activity behavior and online information search regarding exercise programs. Data collection was through a google forms questionnaire, all procedures were approved by the University ethics committee and we collected data from 1065 participants. Our results showed that the participants main behavior was maintained, 80.7% of our sample were active before the pandemic and only 9.7% of this group stopped being active. On the other hand we registered 7% of participants that started exercise after the pandemic installation. Information about exercise was searched outside social media by 49.6% of the participants with 32.5% using social media. 56.1% would look only for professional advice, interestingly 11.4% of the participants were active without any kind of advice. We concluded that Covid-19 pandemic installation affected negatively the population physical activity behavior and increased awareness about the importance of exercise as a health strategy.

Predictive model of the intention to practice physical activity in university students of pedagogy in Anto-fagasta (Chile)

The drop in the physical activity between the youth produces concern among the physical activity and health professionals. Several authors present the existing problems of physical inactivity in Latin America, highlighting the decrease in practice as age increases. Different researches have tried to identify variables that could explain this decline. The aim of this study is to establish the relationship between the perceived fitness and some characteristics of present practice and how these ones predict the future physical practice. The sample was composed of 299 students of several careers of Pedagogy belonging to the University of Antofagasta (Chile). Descriptive, correlational and regression analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical program. Among the obtained results, it stands out, on the one hand, the significant interrelationship between the variables which describes the current physical activity, the perceived fitness and the priority physical activity. And on the other, all the variables under study are predictors of physical activity practice in the future. This discovery highlights the importance of strengthening the sports programs from the university that adapt to the needs of university students. Keywords: physical activity; perceived fitness; university; Latin America.

#5042 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN SARCOPAENIA, CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH AND HABITUAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS ON HAEMODIALYSIS

Abstract Background and Aims Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) show skeletal muscle abnormalities such as sarcopenia (presence of low muscle mass, strength, and physical performance). Severe sarcopenia and its components are associated with poor clinical outcomes, decreased quality of life (QoL), and mortality. The direction of the relationships between sarcopenia and cardiovascular disease are less clear as are the impact of exercise interventions in patients with severe sarcopenia. Method This is a post-hoc analysis of the CYCLE-HD study, which was a randomised controlled trial assessing the effects of a 6-month structured intradialytic cycling intervention on cardiovascular health in those on haemodialysis. Presence of sarcopenia was established using the European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) definition. A cut off of &amp;lt;17.5 kg/m2 in men and &amp;lt;14.5 kg/m2 in women were used for fat free mass to establish muscle quantity using bioimpedance. The cut off of 15 seconds on the sit to stand 5 tests was used to establish muscle strength and a score of ≤8 on the short physical performance battery was used to assess physical performance. If all three criteria were met, severe sarcopenia was confirmed. Accelerometery assessed habitual physical activity (PA) and the general practice physical activity questionnaire assessed self-reported PA. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measured left ventricular mass, pulse wave velocity, and global native T1 mapping (measure of myocardial fibrosis). Mann - Whitney U or unpaired t-tests explored differences in cardiac MRI, and physical activity (PA) outcomes between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients. Linear regressions were used to investigate whether sarcopenia or its components predict cardiovascular health, and habitual PA outcomes cross-sectionally at baseline and following the 6-month programme of intradialytic exercise. Multinomial regressions were used to explore if sarcopenia or its components predicted self-reported PA. Results 130 patients (57 [±15] years, 95 [73.08%] male) were included in the analysis of whom 65 patients underwent the intradialytic cycling intervention. 31 (23.85%) patients had severe sarcopenia. 107(82.31%) had low muscle mass, 92(70.77%) had low strength, and 48 (36.92%) had low physical performance. Severe sarcopenia was a significant predictor for self-reported PA status (p = .042, Pseudo R2 = 0.043) at baseline but not for any other outcomes. However, low muscle mass was a significant predictor for LV mass (p = .014, R2 = 0.04, Β = -6.76). Low muscle strength was a significant predictor for higher pulse wave velocity (p = .010, R2 = 0.056, Β = 2.57) and global native T1 (p = .001, R2 = 0.091, Β = 26.79). Low fat mass (p = .005, R2 = 0.07, Β = -2198.63) and physical performance were significant predictors for mean steps (p&amp;lt;.001, R2 = 0.12, Β = -209.16). Baseline severe sarcopenia or its components were not predictors for cardiovascular or habitual PA changes following intradialytic exercise. Conclusion Severe sarcopenia was present in nearly quarter of the participants, but the majority showed at least one muscle health related abnormality (low muscle mass, strength or physical performance). These markers of sarcopenia showed associations with habitual PA and structural markers of cardiovascular disease. However, the presence of sarcopenia may not limit the benefits offered by intradialytic exercise. Patients with sarcopenic traits should be encouraged to participate in appropriate interventions to improve health and wellbeing.

Hard work, long hours, and Singaporean young adults' health-A qualitative study.

As young adults in their 20s to 30s transitioning toward new careers and independence, their dietary and physical activity practices often change, increasing their risk of weight gain. This study explored the ways that Singaporean young adults perceived and experienced the interaction between their working hours, work, and health practices. This research used semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives and experiences of participants. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit 15 men and 18 women, aged 23 to 36, who had worked full-time at their respective jobs in Singapore for at least 1 year. An inductive and deductive thematic analysis approach was employed. Young working adults' commitment to work was driven by a hard-working culture, a desire to attain better jobs and remuneration, and to fulfill cultural expectations to support their multi-generation families. Their non-work time was largely spent recuperating from work by socializing over food and in sedentary activities. For young working adults, long work hours are normalized, even though they are a barrier to healthy diets and physical activity. Existing social and institutional norms support a culture that values commitment to work and encourages young adults to devote long hours to building a sound financial future and achieving personal and cultural aspirations. These findings have implications for long-term population health and should be considered in health promotion activities targeting young adults and barriers.

Physical activities in Hong Kong kindergartens: A content analysis of the Quality Review reports

In Hong Kong, the Education Bureau (EDB) is responsible for the quality assurance of kindergarten education services. EDB inspectors regularly conduct school visits to monitor kindergartens’ performance and publish a Quality Review (QR) report for each kindergarten. Given the limited research on pedagogical practices pertaining to physical activities in Hong Kong kindergartens, the current study analyzes the content concerning this learning area in the QR reports. We analyzed 164 QR reports (published between 2017 and 2020) according to four analytic dimensions: (1) Overall presence of content pertaining to physical activities; (2) References to specific forms of physical activities; (3) Positive feedback; and (4) Negative feedback and recommendations. The presence of physical activities in the QR reports was found to be low (5% on average). EDB inspectors alluded to physical activities generically, not specifying the motor skill(s) at hand. Both positive and negative feedback focused primarily on matters pertaining to the time of exposure to physical activities and teachers’ pedagogical quality. Our evidence suggests the existence of potential gaps between Hong Kong’s kindergarten policies and actual physical activity practices. Further professional development seems necessary to strengthen both teachers’ pedagogies and inspectors’ understandings of physical activities.

Stuve-wiedemann syndrome in a child: a case report

Introduction: Stüve-Wiedemann Syndrome was first described in 1971. However, this disease was considered a single entity only a few years later. The syndrome is now known to be an autosomal recessive disorder in which the patient has dysautonomia, bone dysplasia and respiratory distress and eating disorder. Objective: To report the case of a girl with Stuve-Wiedemann Syndrome. Case Description: A 7-year-old female SSG patient presented, at birth, with early neonatal sepsis, septic shock, pneumonia, respiratory acidosis, jaundice without the need for phototherapy, food intolerance, anemia, seizures, interstitial pulmonary edema, myositis and osteomyelitis of the right humerus. After 11 months of follow-up, she was referred to a maternal-fetal clinic for genetic testing to investigate the symptoms. The patient was diagnosed with Stüve-Wiedemann Syndrome. Final Considerations: This disease is considered a primary congenital bone dysplasia, characterized by skeletal and joint changes, bowing of the long bones, episodic hyperthermia, periodic respiratory infections, eating disorders and high mortality. These were facts found in the case of the child presented here. On the other hand, this disease can manifest other symptoms such as fissured tongue and episodes of hyperhidrosis, but it was not found in our patient's case. Rare diseases of genetic origin have a high negative impact on patients' quality of life. However, with the practice of physical activity, patients can have a healthy diet. Swimming practice by SSG presents itself as an extremely important activity for the physical and psychological development of this child, contributing to the improvement of her quality of life.

The physical activity of Spanish speleologists: accomplishment of recommendations and differences by sociodemographic variables

Outdoor adventure activities are becoming more popular due to their potential health benefits, although there is little scientific information on speleology as a physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study is to expand the scientific evidence in this field in two ways: (a) describe the PA performed by speleologists, taking into account the variables of interest such as gender, age, education, speleological level, participation in ‘Alpine’ explorations and body mass index (BMI) and (b) identify how far the World Health Organization’s (WHO) PA recommendations were accomplished (i.e.,150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic PA or 75 min of vigorous-intensity aerobic). A cross-sectional study was conducted on 436 speleologists (305 men, 130 women). The participants completed an electronic survey on PA after which a descriptive analysis and cross-sectional pairwise comparisons (Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests) were performed on the non-normal data. The mean metabolic equivalent (MET)-minutes/week was 4070.80 (±3078.80) for total PA, 1937.65 (±1992.39) for vigorous PA, 827.66 (±1049.81) for moderate PA and 1304.87 (±1031.65) for PA walking intensity. 73.4% of the participants met the PA recommendations. Nonparametric tests revealed differences by gender, age, educational level and speleological expertise. Women, the middle group age, doctorate and vocational training students, and beginners were less active than their counterparts. The findings provide important contributions towards the positioning and understanding of speleology as a sport and physical activity practice.

Adaptations to scale-up an early childhood education and care physical activity intervention for real-world availability — Play Active

BackgroundAdaptations for scale-up are ubiquitous but are rarely described in detail. Adaptations may be a key reason for the “scale-up penalty” which is when there is a reduction in intervention effect size following scale-up. The Play Active intervention consists of a physical activity policy for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, with accompanying implementation support strategies. It was first implemented with 81 ECEC services in Perth, Western Australia, in 2021 — with significant positive changes in physical activity practice uptake. The aim of this paper is to describe the extent, type, fidelity consistency, goals, size, scope, and proposed impact of proposed adaptations to the implementation support strategies for scaling-up Play Active.MethodsProposed adaptations were defined as planned changes, made prior to making the intervention available. The authors created a list of adaptations from a comparison of the Play Active implementation support strategies, before and after adaptation for proposed statewide availability across Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia, Australia. We used the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Enhanced Implementation Strategies (FRAME-IS) to code adaptations to implementation support strategies. Three authors coded each adaptation and rated their size, scope and proposed impact.ResultsFifty-three adaptations to Play Active were identified. Most (68%) were proposed for the ‘content’ of implementation strategies, including aspects of their delivery. In practice, this involved changing the delivery mode of implementation support strategies from phone call and email support, to website-based delivery. More than half (56%) of adaptations involved ‘adding elements’ for scale-up. Most adaptations were ‘fidelity consistent’ (95%). The main goals for adaptations were related to ‘increasing the acceptability, appropriateness, or feasibility’ (45%), ‘decreasing the costs’ (19%) and ‘increasing adoption of the evidence-based practice’ (19%). Adaptations were small to medium in size, with most proposed to have a positive (87%) or neutral (8%) effect on the effectiveness of the intervention, rather than negative (4%).ConclusionsA large number of small, fidelity-consistent, adaptations were proposed for Play Active scale-up. Overall, the process of reporting adaptations was found to be feasible. To understand the impact of these adaptations, it will be important to re-evaluate implementation, effectiveness and process outcomes, at-scale.

Obesity and physical exercise in hemophilia.

The new coagulation factors have made possible to increase the life expectancy of patients with hemophilia to around 70 years of age. However, there are some comorbidities to take into account such as obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular or metabolic diseases. Improving dietary habits and promoting physical exercise are the two ways of preventing this. But, less than 50% of people with haemophilia actually do something in this sense, even though to practice physical activity or sport is save if you under treatment.

Parent and school modelling factors associated with physical activity practices among adolescents of Devchuli municipality

Background: Regular physical activity helps children and adolescents to remain healthy and fit, improve muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness, have psycho-social benefits. The Global School Based Student Health Survey of Nepal 2015 shows that only 15.1% of adolescents of age 13-17 years were physically active daily. Identification of these factors that affects level of physical activity among adolescents of Nepal and its better understanding will aid in promoting physically active lifestyle and designing effective interventions. Methods: The cross sectional study was conducted to determine the factors associated with physical activity among adolescents of 15 to 19 years in Devchuli Municipality. Physical activity level of adolescents were measured along with parental and school/teacher modelling variables. Results: The study shows that most of the participants (68.8%) had moderate level of physical activity while 28.8% of participants were doing high level of physical activity. Only 7% of females were doing high level of physical activities compared to 53% males doing the high level of physical activities. The result showed that male participants were more likely to do high level of physical activity (AOR=16, 95% CI=7.3-33.7) than female participants. Similarly, the participants from other than Hindu religion (which consists Buddhist and Christian) were more likely to do high level of physical activity (AOR=6.5, 95% CI=1.8-23.5) than the participants from Hindu religion. Conclusions: The study showed that male participants and the participants from other than Hindu religion (which consists Buddhist and Christian) were more likely to do high level of physical than their counterparts.

Excess Weight in Relation to Lifestyle Habits in Spanish First-Year University Students: Differences between Pre- and Post-COVID-19-A Serial Cross-Sectional Study Based on uniHcos Project.

The objective of this research was to study the relationship between the body weight and diet, physical activity, and other habits among freshmen students by sex, and to determine whether these habits have changed during the post-era of the COVID-19 pandemic. A serial cross-sectional study with data from 11 Spanish universities was carried out. In total, 10,096 first-year university students (73.2% female, mean age = 19.0 ± 1.5 years) completed an online self-administered questionnaire between 2012 and 2022. For some analyses, questionnaires were categorized by the year in which the survey was filled out as Before COVID-19, Lockdown, and New Normal. In total, 72.9% of participants were within the normal weight range, and 17.7% of men and 11.8% of women were overweight (p < 0.001). The students who did not meet the WHO criteria of physical activity, spent more than 7 h per day sitting, and skipped breakfast had a higher prevalence of obesity (p < 0.05). According to the period of study, the prevalence of overweight/obesity Before COVID-19 was 16.1% (95% CI: 15.4-16.9%), while in Lockdown the prevalence was significantly higher (20.2, 95% CI: 17.1-23.8) and in New Normal it was 18.9% (CI: 15.7-22.5). Moreover, the study suggests that during the Lockdown period, there was a reduction in the practice of physical activity and an increase in the prevalence of a healthy diet. For all these, it is necessary to propose public health interventions that improve the lifestyles of university students.