Examining changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior of college students during the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19)

Background: Emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic impacted the population’s health behaviors. The influence of local shutdowns and regulations on physical activity and sedentary behaviors in college-aged students is not well understood. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate changes in physical activity and sedentary time as well as barriers and facilitators to leisure-time physical activity among college aged students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We recruited undergraduate and graduate students attending the University of Iowa during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Physical activity and sedentary time were estimated a week before shutdown (before), a week during May 2020 (early), and the first week of September 2020 (later) using the Activity Questionnaire for Adults and Adolescents (AQuAA). Barriers and facilitators to physical activity during the pandemic were assessed in May and September using 14 statements that participants ranked on a four-point Likert scale. Participants also responded to six open-ended questions in May examining other influences the pandemic had on physical activity and sedentary behaviors not addressed in prior surveys. Significant differences in AQuAA categories between all three time points were assessed by a Friedman test and by Wilcoxon signed rank test between two time points. Significant differences between mean scores of barriers and facilitators were assessed by Wilcoxon signed rank tests. All open-ended questions were content analyzed and coded into themes and assessed for frequency. Results: Student respondents (n=230) were mostly female (82%) with a median age of 21 ± 5 years. Median weekly MVPA minutes significantly decreased (7891±7340 vs. 5550±6410 P<.001) and sedentary time significantly increased (1330±1570 vs. 2415±1770 P<.001) early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Median weekly MVPA minutes did not significantly differ between early and a later assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic, but total sedentary time significantly decreased (2415±1770 vs. 1767±1652 P=.002). The most commonly cited barrier to physical activity during the pandemic was schoolwork (47.71%). The most commonly cited facilitators to physical activity during the pandemic were social support (21.5%), having more time (19.6%), and technology (11.5%). Conclusion: COVID-19 related regulations are associated with reduced physical activity and increased sedentary behaviors of college age students. Local regulations and shutdowns may have introduced new barriers to physical activity. Therefore, it may prove critical to create interventions that target these unique barriers to promote physical activity in this population following the pandemic and to help inform public health initiative targeting these behaviors in future pandemics or crises.