How are the physical activity and anxiety levels of the university students affected during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic?

Abstract

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has influenced all people’s lives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of physical activity and anxiety of university students during the pandemic, and then determine some associated factors with anxiety of these young adults.. Material and methods: A web-based questionnaire was sent to the participants. International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used to collect data about the levels of their physical activity and anxiety. Results: 247 participants (females = 151, males = 96) of the Faculty of Health Sciences whose mean ages were 21.46 ±2.1 years old completed the study questions in 24 hours. The participants performed light physical activity according to the IPAQ-SF and had mild anxiety according to the BAI. Their gender, smoking status, and opinions on online education were found to be effective on the anxiety level (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This paper indicated some important factors for the young adults who tried to continue their education in a very different way for a few weeks. Since this is not online education like past, both health professionals and university managements should consider the harms and risks of this new educational style on physical and psychological health of students before the upcoming semesters.

Fear of COVID-19 changes the motivation for physical activity participation: Polish-Chinese comparisons

“…At the same time, participation in some activities, especially indoor ones, could cause the fear of COVID-19. As the studies show, the emotions and states of fear and anxiety have a significant impact on the level of people’s physical activity ( Topcu et al, 2020 ). Therefore the main aim of this study is to measure this impact but on the motives for physical activity.…”

How Did Online Learning Affect Physiotherapy Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic?

“…However, unlike their results, more than half of the students (58.4%) are at the level of moderate physical activity. Although students perceived a decrease in their physical activity level, they were not inactive during the online learning period according to the IPAQ-SF assessment (14). This result suggests that the physiotherapy students in the current study may have a higher level of physical activity in their routine life, except during the pandemic period.…”

“…Moreover, it was stated that university students who had higher quality of life had lower burnout scores, better perception of online learning, and higher frequency of physical activity (23). Topcu-Güçhan et al (14) reported that most of the physiotherapy students had low physical activity levels during the distance education period. In our study, more than half of the students stated that the level of physical activity they perceived decreased compared to the prepandemic period.…”

“…In a study conducted before the outbreak of the pandemic, it was determined that physiotherapists were physically active (13). However, a recent study conducted in Turkey showed that physiotherapy students had a low level of physical activity during the pandemic (14). Still, it is not fully known how the COVID-19 pandemic affected physiotherapy students in terms of academic success, perseverance, coronaphobia, and physical activity levels in Turkey.…”

Correlation between participation in physical activity and healthy nutrition: An example of a sports science faculty

“…Arslan et al [15] found that male students studying at university have higher levels of participation in physical activity than female students. When the literature is examined, there are studies showing that male and female participants have higher participation in physical activity, and female participants have higher nutritional behaviors than male participants [16][17][18][19][20].…”