Physical Activity And Perceived Stress In College Students During Different Stages Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 69.8% of US college students met aerobic physical activity (PA) recommendations and 39.1% reported that stress affected their academic performance. As regular PA has been demonstrated to reduce stress and times of uncertainty have been demonstrated to increase stress, levels of PA and perceived stress (PS) during different stages of the pandemic are of interest. PURPOSE: To compare levels of PA and PS during April/May 2020 (EARLY) and October/November 2020 (LATER) stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: University students (EARLY: N = 797, age 22.5 ± 5.7 years, BMI 26.5 ± 6.5 kg/m2, 72.4% female; LATER: N = 410, age 22.4 ± 5.8 years, BMI 26.4 ± 6.5 kg/m2, 70.5% female) completed confidential online surveys during different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Questionnaires included the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (long form with moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA), and sitting minutes) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10: 0-13 low, 14-26 moderate, and 27-40 high stress). Whether individuals met recommended aerobic PA levels was also determined (i.e., ≥ 150 min MPA, 75 min VPA, or equivalent combination). RESULTS: Individuals who met recommended PA had less PS (p = 0.006), greater MPA and VPA, and less sitting time (p < 0.001 for all). Overall, close to half of the respondents (EARLY 41%, LATER 46%) reported achieving the recommended PA each week. There were no differences in MPA between EARLY and LATER (20.0 ± 40.5 vs 20.3 ± 35.6 min, p = 0.454), while VPA (22.5 ± 34.4 vs 16.9 ± 34.5 min, p = 0.008) and weekend sitting time (415.0 ± 196.0 vs 374.6 ± 195.2 min, p < 0.001) were greater EARLY. Likewise, there was higher total PS (22.5 ± 7.0 vs 21.5 ± 7.3, p = 0.016) EARLY. Individual PS components related to control of one’s environment were higher EARLY as compared to LATER (e.g., unable to control the important things in life, did not feel on top of things, p < 0.001 for both). CONCLUSION: During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lower percentage of students met the recommended levels of PA while perceiving additional stress. Those who met PA guidelines reported less PS both EARLY and LATER in the pandemic, suggesting that PA can help to reduce stress.