The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on sedentary life in young adults: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

In this study, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity and sedentary lifestyle of young adults were evaluated. The cross-sectional study was conducted on individuals aged 18–35 years between December 2021 and March 2022. In the study, sedentary life was evaluated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), screening time and the Brief Eating Behaviors Questionnaire. 397 people participated in the study and the mean age was 24.41 ± 4.18. Body Mass Index (BMI), time spent in front of the screen, need for psychosocial support, and Short Diet Behaviors Questionnaire (SDBQ) scores showed a significant increase during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period (respectively; p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001). It has been observed that there is an increase in the time spent in front of the screen, worsening in eating behaviors, decrease in physical activity, and an increase in BMI values of young adults during pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• young adult
• sedentary life
• BMI
• physical activity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contribution

Conceptualization: Duygu Ayhan Başer, Seyla Esra Akdeniz, Gülşah Onur, Kübra Karadağ

Data curation: Seyla Esra Akdeniz, Gülşah Onur, Kübra Karadağ

Formal analysis: Duygu Ayhan Başer

Investigation: Duygu Ayhan Başer, Seyla Esra Akdeniz, Gülşah Onur, Kübra Karadağ, İzzet Fidanci, Hilal Aksoy

Supervision: Mustafa Cankurtaran

Writing-original draft: Duygu Ayhan Başer, Seyla Esra Akdeniz, Gülşah Onur, Kübra Karadağ Writing-review and

editing: Duygu Ayhan Başer, İzzet Fidanci, Hilal Aksoy, Mustafa Cankurtaran

Ethical Considerations

This study was approved by the Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine Non-Invasive Clinical Research Ethics Committee (Protocol number GO 21/1016; Date: 21/09/2021).

Additional information

Funding

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.