Variability in Physical Inactivity Responses of University Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Monitoring of Daily Step Counts Using a Smartphone Application.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(4)2022 02 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1690257
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.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mobile Applications
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph19041958
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