Physical activity in college students before and during the COVID-19 lockdown.

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 lockdown has changed student's lifestyle, especially the physical activity (PA) as many students remained at home with limitations to perform PA. Objective(s) To determine the level of physical activity of private university students before and during lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s) A cross-sectional study was performed including all pre-graduated students of the Public Health and Administration Faculty (N=161) invited by e-mail. To measure the level of PA before and during the lockdown, a short version of the questionnaire IPAQ was applied via Google Forms. Result(s) The answer rate was 56.5% (n=91). A significant reduction in PA before and during lockdown was observed, values were 55.6%, 10.9% and 11.1% for the high, intermediate, and low levels of PA. The number of students that performed PA based on WHO's recommendation decreased from 36 to 23 (36.1%). Conclusion(s) The lockdown impacted negatively in the intensity and frequency of PA based on WHO's recommendations.Copyright © Revista Medica Herediana. All rights reserved.