Living Situation and Physical Activity in the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Private University Students

Physical activity levels among college students in private institutions were significantly altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. With COVID-19’s impact on universities, many students experienced transition, including a change in living situation. Behaviors in college help establish life-long habits that can determine health outcomes, so it’s important to investigate any declines in physical activity observed during the pandemic. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess differences in physical activity based on living situation among 18- to 25-year-old private university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Adults (n=109) between 18- and 25-years-old in the greater Houston area completed an online survey, which included the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form. Independent samples T-tests examined MET-minute differences based on living situation. RESULTS: Students living with versus without a parent/guardian attained similar activity levels (t(107) = -.114, p = .910) before the pandemic, but students living with a parent/guardian engaged in significantly less activity (t(107) = 2.04, p = .044) during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The pandemic presented a strong obstacle to physical activity participation among private university students. Students living with a parent/guardian during this time saw an even more significant decrease in physical activity. Based on these findings, targeted interventions should be made to increase the physical activity of college students during COVID-19, especially for those living at home with a parent or guardian

Physical Activity Independently Predicts Perceived Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Private University Students

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(7): 1680-1691, 2022. Physical activity has significantly declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Declines in physical activity have correlated with increased levels of perceived stress, though studies examining physical activity and stress have failed to account for critical confounds. The present study aims to determine whether physical activity independently predicts perceived stress in students attending private four-year universities. Physical activity, socioeconomic status, resilience, gender, and perceived stress data were collected from 85 students and used in a multiple linear regression analysis. The regression model accounted for 43.5% of the variance in perceived stress (R2 = .462, p \u3c .001). Total physical activity significantly and inversely predicted perceived stress (β = –.229, p = .007) in students irrespective of other covariates. Socioeconomic status, resilience, and gender also independently and significantly predicted perceived stress. Findings should be leveraged by university staff to promote psychological well-being and wholistic health initiatives incorporating physical activity as a primary and modifiable component

Living Situation and Physical Activity in the COVID-19 Pandemic Among American Private University Students

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(4): 1064-1074, 2022. Many university students experienced changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including potential changes in physical activity (PA) levels and living situation. As PA behaviors in young adulthood help establish life-long habits and future health outcomes, the purpose of this study was to investigate overall change in PA, as well as change in PA due to living situation, among private university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Private university students (n = 109) between 18 and 25 years of age completed an online survey that included the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form. T-tests examined changes in overall time spent in PA from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the differences in MET-minute distributions between groups. Students performed significantly less activity during the COVID-19 pandemic than before (t(108) = 3.51, p = .001, d = 0.493), with 70.6% of all students meeting exercise recommendations before the pandemic and 51.4% after. Students living with vs. without a parent/guardian attained similar PA levels (t(107) = -.114, p = .910) before the pandemic (73.1% vs. 69.9%, respectively), but students living with a parent/guardian engaged in significantly less PA (t(107) = 2.04, p = .044, d = 0.475) than those living without a parent/guardian during the pandemic (37.5% vs. 57.1%, respectively). The declines in PA suggest the need for targeted interventions and education among private university students. In order to maximize the health benefits of PA, it is crucial that activity engagement return to at least pre-COVID-19 levels

Effects of a College-Mentored Physical Activity Program for Elementary Students

Health risks of a sedentary lifestyle for children, defined as being less than 5,000 steps per day, include unfavorable indicators of body composition and cardio-metabolic risk. Results of school-based physical activity interventions to increase physical activity levels have been mixed. However, mentorship programs have shown promise. Previous mentorship programs have relied on peer-to-peer mentorships, with participants being of a similar age group. College mentors present an alternative and low-cost resource that may also provide positive results, yet have been largely ignored in research studies to date. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a novel, individualized college-mentored physical activity program on physical activity levels among older elementary school students. METHODS: Fifth grade students (n = 12) were paired one-to-one with local college mentors for 30 minute bi-weekly running sessions on the elementary school campus for six weeks. Multiple assessments from activity trackers were compared on intervention versus non-intervention days using paired-samples t-tests. RESULTS: Significant increases in steps (t(11) = 8.056; p ≤ .001) and moderate-to-vigorous activity (t(11) = 5.202; p ≤ .001) were seen on intervention days, as compared to non-intervention days. The average increase in step count on intervention days (6,381) versus non-intervention days (3,158) also resulted in students being elevated out of a sedentary classification. CONCLUSION: Individualized mentoring from college students significantly increased multiple assessments of physical activity, including minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity and number of steps taken. Perhaps most notably, the mentored physical activity program promoted students from a sedentary to active lifestyle on intervention days as determined by step count. This novel high-impact and low-cost approach should be further developed for future school-based physical activity programs and research

Relating Use of Effective Responsive, Structure, and Non-Directive Control Vegetable Parenting Practices to Subscales from the Model of Goal Directed Behavior

Parents may positively influence children’s vegetable consumption through effective vegetable parenting practices (VPP). Research has demonstrated three dimensions of effective VPP: Effective Responsiveness, Structure, and Non-Directive Control, but there is limited research investigating each separately. This study presents the modeling of Effective Responsive, Structure, and Non-Directive Control VPP using constructs from the Model of Goal Directed Vegetable Parenting Practices (MGDVPP). Parents (n=307) completed a survey on demographics, MGDVPP constructs, and effective VPP. Block regression modeling tested three models: one for each dimension of effective VPP as the dependent variable. Independent variables included validated subscales representing MGDVPP constructs: Intention, Desire, Perceived Barriers, Autonomy, Relatedness, Self-Efficacy, Habit, Anticipated Emotions, Perceived Behavioral Control, Attitudes, and Norms. Participants were racially diverse, and a majority was female, of higher socioeconomic status, and with a male child. Effective Responsive VPP was positively related to a Habit subscale. Effective Structure VPP was positively related to a Barrier, two Habit, and an Attitude subscales. Effective Non-Directive Control VPP was positively related to being a high school or GED graduate, having younger children, a Habit, and two Intentions subscales, and negatively related to an Intentions and a Perceived Behavioral Control subscales. The adjusted R2 for the Effective Responsive, Structure, and Non-Directive Control VPP models were 0.432, 0.310, and 0.515, respectively. This was the first study to relate constructs from a theoretical model to effective VPP dimensions. Research is needed to longitudinally assess the MGDVPP and test its utility in vegetable-related interventions

Effects of a College-Mentored Physical Activity Program for Elementary Students

Health risks of a sedentary lifestyle for children, defined as being less than 5,000 steps per day, include unfavorable indicators of body composition and cardio-metabolic risk. Results of school-based physical activity interventions to increase physical activity levels have been mixed. However, mentorship programs have shown promise. Previous mentorship programs have relied on peer-to-peer mentorships, with participants being of a similar age group. College mentors present an alternative and low-cost resource that may also provide positive results, yet have been largely ignored in research studies to date. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a novel, individualized college-mentored physical activity program on physical activity levels among older elementary school students. METHODS: Fifth grade students (n = 12) were paired one-to-one with local college mentors for 30 minute bi-weekly running sessions on the elementary school campus for six weeks. Multiple assessments from activity trackers were compared on intervention versus non-intervention days using paired-samples t-tests. RESULTS: Significant increases in steps (t(11) = 8.056; p ≤ .001) and moderate-to-vigorous activity (t(11) = 5.202; p ≤ .001) were seen on intervention days, as compared to non-intervention days. The average increase in step count on intervention days (6,381) versus non-intervention days (3,158) also resulted in students being elevated out of a sedentary classification. CONCLUSION: Individualized mentoring from college students significantly increased multiple assessments of physical activity, including minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity and number of steps taken. Perhaps most notably, the mentored physical activity program promoted students from a sedentary to active lifestyle on intervention days as determined by step count. This novel high-impact and low-cost approach should be further developed for future school-based physical activity programs and research

Organized Sports and Physical Activities as Sole Influencers of Fitness: The Homeschool Population

Homeschool children may rely solely on organized sports and physical activities to achieve recommended levels of physical activity and fitness. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in fitness levels between homeschool children who did, and did not, participate in organized sports or physical activities, and then examine relationships between hours per week in sports or physical activities and cardiorespiratory fitness as measured by portions of the FitnessGram® test battery. Organized sports/physical activity participation information was gathered on 100 children ages 10–17 years who completed tests of upper, abdominal, and cardiorespiratory fitness. The current investigation revealed that participation alone was not associated with higher levels of physical fitness as assessed by the 90° push-up test or curl-up test nor was time in participation related to cardiorespiratory fitness as assessed by the Progressive Aerobic Capacity Endurance Run (PACER). These activities alone may be insufficient for meeting physical activity recommendations and improving physical fitness. Therefore, children and adolescents educated at home may need additional opportunities to participate in unstructured daily physical activity

Acculturation and Plasma Fatty Acid Concentrations in Hispanic and Chinese-American Adults: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND:Acculturation to the U.S. is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but the etiologic pathways are not fully understood. Plasma fatty acid levels exhibit ethnic differences and are emerging as biomarkers and predictors of cardiovascular disease risk. Thus, plasma fatty acids may represent one pathway underlying the association between acculturation and cardiovascular disease. We investigated the cross-sectional relationship between acculturation and plasma phospholipid fatty acids in a diverse sample of Hispanic- and Chinese-American adults. METHODS AND FINDINGS:Participants included 377 Mexican, 320 non-Mexican Hispanic, and 712 Chinese adults from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, who had full plasma phospholipid assays and acculturation information. Acculturation was determined from three proxy measures: nativity, language spoken at home, and years in the U.S., with possible scores ranging from 0 (least acculturated) to 5 (most acculturated) points. α-Linolenic acid, linoleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and arachidonic acid were measured in fasting plasma. Linear regression models were conducted in race/ethnicity-stratified analyses, with acculturation as the predictor and plasma phospholipid fatty acids as the outcome variables. We ran secondary analyses to examine associations between acculturation and dietary fatty acids for comparison. Covariates included age, gender, education, and income. Contrary to our hypothesis, no statistically significant associations were detected between acculturation and plasma phospholipid fatty acids for Chinese, non-Mexican Hispanic, or Mexican participants. However, acculturation was related to dietary total n-6 fatty acids and dietary n-3/n-6 ratios in expected directions for Mexican, non-Mexican Hispanic, and combined Hispanic participants. In Chinese individuals, acculturation was unexpectedly associated with lower arachidonic acid intake. CONCLUSION:Absence of associations between acculturation and plasma phospholipid fatty acids suggests that changes in the plasma phospholipid fatty acids studied do not account for the observed associations of acculturation to the U.S. and cardiovascular disease risk. Similar findings were observed for eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, when using dietary intake. However, the observed associations between dietary n-6 fatty acids and acculturation in Hispanic individuals suggest that dietary intake may be more informative than phospholipids when investigating acculturation effects. In Chinese individuals, acculturation may have a possible protective effect through decreased arachidonic acid intake. Further research on dietary fatty acids and other cardiovascular disease biomarkers is needed to identify possible etiologic mechanisms between acculturation and cardiovascular disease