Comparisons of physical activity, sitting time, and substance use among college students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To compare physical activity (PA), sitting time, and substance use pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 pandemic among US college students. Participants: 484 students from a large Western university (20.6 ± 1.4 years, 80.0% female) were recruited. Methods: Self-reported online surveys were completed in June-August 2020. T-tests and non-parametric analyses were conducted for continuous and ordinal variables respectively. Results: Vigorous PA, moderate PA, and light PA decreased significantly by 32%, 27%, and 21% and sitting time increased significantly by 49% from pre-COVID-19 to during COVID-19 pandemic. Wine consumption was less during COVID-19 than pre-COVID-19 among female, non-first-generation, and White students. Sleep aids use was more frequent during COVID-19 than pre-COVID-19 pandemic among non-first-generation and White students. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic may influence college students' health behaviors including physical activity patterns, sitting time, and substance use. Effective health promotion and coping strategies should be widely available to college students during times of change and uncertainty.

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

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.

Using "evidence-based practice" to integrate physiological knowledge with practical application in an introductory undergraduate exercise physiology course.

Critical thinking and scientific communication are common learning objectives in physiology education. However, a lack of real-world application can limit the transfer of these skills to professional settings. For example, health and wellness professionals are often asked to give advice to clients and patients regarding the use of nutritional supplements, diets, and exercise programs. Giving sound advice on these questions requires the ability to find, interpret, and communicate the evidence to support or reject the use of a given intervention. "Evidence-based practice" (EBP) provides a philosophical framework for combining personal experience, client/patient values, and scientific evidence to give informed advice in a professional setting. Here, we describe the development and implementation of a semester-long EBP project in an introductory exercise physiology course. We discuss how specific components of the project are designed to enhance classroom equity, improve scientific communication, and integrate course content with the student's lived experience and personal interests.