Association of perceived stress with changes in physical activity and sitting time before and during COVID-19 pandemic among college students

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association of perceived stress [PS] with physical activity [PA] and sitting time [ST], before and during COVID-19 among US college students. Participants: 592 students from a large Western university (19.08 ± 4.62 years, 76.69% female, 79.39% White) were recruited. Methods: Self-reported online survey was completed in June-December 2020. Analysis included paired T-tests for continuous variables, Pearson Correlation the relationship between PSS, PA, and sitting time before and during COVID-19, and linear mixed models examined the association of outcome variables with PSS, time, and PSS × time. Results. Vigorous, moderate, and light PA decreased by 40%, 35% and 19%, sitting time increased by 52%, and PSS increase by 42% from before to during COVID-19. Conclusions: The perceived stress during COVID-19 may have influenced physical activity and sitting time. Effective health promotion programs and coping strategies are needed to protect college students as campuses reopen during COVID.

Keywords:

• College students
• COVID-19 pandemic
• perceived stress
• physical activity
• sitting time

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge and thank our study participants for the time invested in completing the surveys.

Conflict of interest disclosure

In accordance with Taylor & Frances policy and our ethical obligation as researchers, we are reporting that there are no financial or business interest. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met ethical guidelines and received approval from the IRB (IRB).

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.