Impact of COVID-19 on the Physical Activity and Mental Health of College Students

Rudolph Bailey¹, Lei Guo^1, and Allen L Guo²

¹Department of Kinesiology and Recreation Administration, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina. United States

²Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. United States

Cite this paper:
Rudolph Bailey, Lei Guo and Allen L Guo. Impact of COVID-19 on the Physical Activity and Mental Health of College Students. Journal of Physical Activity Research. 2024; 9(1):8-13. doi: 10.12691/jpar-9-1-2

Abstract

The COVID-19 coronavirus has presented our world with significant global challenges and instituting lockdown measures. Among those most affected were college students, who were forced to engage in social distancing; educational institutions were affected, and remote learning and recreation facilities closed their doors temporarily, including playgrounds. Recognizing the unique impact on this demographic, the researchers were interested in knowing if students participated in physical activities during lockdown and, if so, what type of behavior they engaged in. This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on college students' physical and emotional activity behavior. A qualitative study was conducted using an online Google Form among 98 students. The survey measured the overall impact on physical activities and health, virtual vs. face-to-face workouts, and the impact on psychological and social aspects, and participants most often participated in physical activities after COVID-19. Results indicate that 55.2% of individuals' physical activities decreased, only 26.5% of active individuals had no change, and 17.3% increased their overall physical activities. After COVID-19, 55.7% spent less time than before, while 23.7% spent more on physical activities. In face-to-face workouts, 60% did not attend any virtual or face-to-face workouts, 12% participated in virtual workouts, 11% participated in face-to-face workouts, and 16.3% attended virtual and face-to-face workouts. About 20% of the participants reported that they felt they were depressed due to COVID-19. About 40% of them felt stressed and socially isolated due to COVID-19. Over 20% felt lonely due to Covid-19. Our results enrich the literature on how COVID-19 impacts the physical activity behavior of college students and offer a novel reasoning to ensure student's physical behavior is understood.

Keywords:
Covid-19 physical activity mental health college student

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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