O AUMENTO DA INATIVIDADE FÍSICA ENTRE ESTUDANTES DURANTE A PANDEMIA DE COVID-19: PESQUISA RESPIRE

Abstract

The aim of the study was to describe and compare the physical inactivity prevalence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic period and to know the associated factors with physical inactivity of Federal Institute of Sul-rio-grandense (IFSul) students during the pandemic. An ambidirectional longitudinal observational study of the Census type in 2021 was carried out. A total of 5,171 students from the 14 IFSul college participated in the research. To verify physical inactivity before and during the pandemic, two questions were used: 1) “Before the pandemic, did you practice physical activity on a regular basis in your free time, such as walking, cycling, playing any sport, etc?”; 2) “Do you currently practice physical activity on a regular basis in your free time, such as walking, cycling, playing any sport, etc?”. The chi-square test was used to compare the physical inactivity prevalence before and during the pandemic. To verify the associated factors, crude analyzes were performed using the chi-square test, and adjusted analyzes using Poisson regression. The leisure-time physical inactivity prevalence increased from 36.5% before the pandemic to 49.9% during the pandemic (p<0.001). Students who were more likely to be inactive in leisure time during the pandemic were those with lower income, older age, worse health perception, more screen time during leisure time, who did not drink alcoholic beverages and who had a higher consumption of unhealthy foods compared to the period before the pandemic. It is concluded that there was a significant increase in the leisure-time physical inactivity prevalence during the pandemic and several factors were associated with physical inactivity during the pandemic.