Tracking physical activity in baccalaureate nursing students in the United States prior to graduation: A longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in physical activity among baccalaureate nursing students over time. DESIGN: Longitudinal descriptive study. SETTING: Baccalaureate nursing program at a four-year university in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-two male (n = 4) and female (n = 48) nursing students. METHODS: At the beginning and end (weeks 1-2 and 15-16) of the three semesters prior to graduation, students completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and their body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Based on the IPAQ, physical activity was calculated as MET-minutes per week of vigorous, moderate, and walking activities, using metabolic equivalents of 8.0 METS for vigorous, 4.0 METS for moderate, and 3.3 METS for walking. RESULTS: At baseline, students were 21.3 ±â€¯1.4 years old with a BMI of 23.5 ±â€¯2.9 kg/m2. BMI increased throughout the study and prior to graduation was 23.9 ±â€¯3.2 kg/m2 (p = 0.039). Overall, students maintained high physical activity levels that did not change statistically. Walking was the predominant activity, followed by vigorous and then moderate activity. Walking and vigorous activity displayed opposing patterns. Vigorous activity decreased over the first three measurement periods (p = 0.029), increased for the fourth period, and then decreased again over the last two periods (p = 0.037 compared to baseline). By comparison, walking increased over the first three measurements (p = 0.002) and then decreased again (p = 0.015). When students were grouped by physical activity level (moderate vs. high), there were significant between-group differences in vigorous activity and walking. At baseline and end of study, the moderate activity group participated in 58% and 49% less vigorous activity, and 83% and 45% less walking than the high activity group. CONCLUSION: In this group of baccalaureate nursing students, overall physical activity did not decline with time. Students participated in sufficient physical activity to promote health, and after graduation, they are likely to provide effective patient counselling regarding healthy lifestyles.