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. 2022 Jun:25:101383.
doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2022.101383. Epub 2022 May 3.

Impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on time allocation for sedentary and physical activities - The context of Indian university students

Punyabeet Sarangi  1 , M Manoj  1 , Manisha Bhosley  2
Affiliations

Impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on time allocation for sedentary and physical activities - The context of Indian university students

Punyabeet Sarangi et al. J Transp Health. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Introduction: Covid-19 pandemic has impacted individuals' time allocation decisions. As it is known that university students display behaviors different from the general population, very few studies have examined their activity participation and time allocation behavior during the pandemic. The present study investigates the changes in time allocations to sedentary, physically active, and eat-sleep activities before and during the pandemic.

Methods: The study hypothesizes that active mode (walk, bicycle) and transit users would compensate for the physical efforts by increasing physical activities at home during the lockdown. Students' perception of personal well-being, anxiety, and individual leisure during the pandemic and their impacts on time allocation decisions after controlling for demographic variables and temporal effects are also explored. A pan India behavioral data of 203 samples collected using an online survey conducted between May to July 2020, during India's lockdown phase, is used for analysis. A series of segmented analyses (using ANOVA's and Kruskal-Wallis Test) and empirical modeling (linear mixed-effect regression) were conducted based on the time use distribution.

Results: Findings showed that university students from low-income households and students who own a bicycle show a higher tendency to spend time in physical activities during lockdown periods. Students accessing college using active modes (before lockdown) allocate less time to sedentary and eat-sleep activities than physical activities during the lockdown period. Students' perception of Leisure items among those who use active modes is significantly different from those of private and public mode users.

Conclusions: From a policy viewpoint, such investigation would help implicitly understand and publicize the health benefits of active modes and transit and encourage their use. For instance, policymakers and transport planners can temporarily allocate less-used motorized streets (due to the pandemic) to students who prefer walking and cycling as universities still function online in India.

Keywords: Activity participation; COVID-19; India; Time allocation; University students.

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Conflict of interest statement

We the undersigned declare that this manuscript is original, has not been published before and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere. We confirm that the manuscript has been read and approved by all named authors and that there are no other persons who satisfied the criteria for authorship but are not listed. We further confirm that the order of authors listed in the manuscript has been approved by all of us. We confirm that each author has disclosed on the form below any conflict of interest, in accordance with Elsevier's standard guidelines. These are summarized below,a and given in full at: www.elsevier.com/authors/author-rights-and-responsibilities#responsibilities. We understand that the Corresponding Author is the sole contact for the Editorial process. He/she is responsible for communicating with the other authors about progress, submissions of revisions and final approval of proofs. A conflict of interest may exist when an author or the author's institution has a financial or other relationship with other people or organizations that may inappropriately influence the author's work. A conflict can be actual or potential. At the end of the text, under a subheading ‘Disclosure Statement’, all authors must disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations within three (3) years of beginning the work submitted that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Spatial distribution of respondents' university locations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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