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. 2024 Oct 17;19(10):e0302894.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302894. eCollection 2024.

Physical activity, weight management, and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown: A cross-sectional study of healthcare students in China

Rong Zhang  1 , Yuhuan Yin  2 , Yiyin Zhang  1 , Yuping Feng  1 , Hongyan Meng  1 , Jing Wang  1 , Min Zhang  3 , Juxia Zhang  4
Affiliations

Physical activity, weight management, and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown: A cross-sectional study of healthcare students in China

Rong Zhang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: There is growing evidence that the social blockade brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected college students' physical activity; however, their weight management behaviors and mental health have not been fully explored, especially among healthcare students. This study aimed to assess physical activity, weight management behaviors, and mental health among healthcare students during the campus lockdown and to analyze the factors influencing physical activity.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 1,216 healthcare students from March 24, 2022, to April 11, 2022. To collect information about students' physical activity, weight management behaviors, and mental health, they were asked to complete the Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), 11 issues related to weight management behavior, and the World Health Organization 5-Item Well-Being Index (WHO-5) questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was performed to determine the factors influencing physical activity.

Results: Almost half of the participants had low levels of physical activity (45%), the mean score for weight management behavior was 39.55±6.26, and 54.6% had low levels of well-being. Healthcare students without exercise habits during the non-epidemic period reported lower levels of physical activity (OR = 1.81; 95%CI = 1.41-2.34, P<0.001). Participants with poor weight management behavior were more likely than other participants to report lower levels of physical activity (OR = 0.92; 95%CI = 0.90-0.94, P < 0.001). Likewise, the odds of being physically inactive were higher among the happier participants (OR = 0.98; 95%CI = 0.96-0.99, P = 0.031).

Conclusions: During the COVID-19 lockdown, most healthcare students in Gansu province lack physical exercise and have a low health level. Significant correlation factors for low physical activity levels were grade level, non-lockout exercise habits, weight management level, and well-being. These findings demonstrate the importance of developing targeted policies and programs encouraging physical activity among medical students.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Differences in weight management behaviors and well-being scores at different levels of physical activity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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