Adherence to healthy lifestyle in Sport Sciences university students during COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily habits. The lockdown and other related restrictions have exposed people to sedentary behaviors and unhealthy nutrition, increasing the risk to develop diseases. The present study aimed to investigate physical activity, nutrition, and sleep habits in university students. Methods: 533 university students from the University of Milan, Italy, were recruited. Students filled out a questionnaire concerning anthropometric characteristics (weight, height), age and their habits in different areas of life: physical activity was evaluated by the Godin-Shephard Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire; nutrition was investigated by the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and adolescents; sleep was evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index proposed for both weekday (WD) and weekend (WE). Moreover, we investigated the consumption of cigarettes and the consume wine and alcohol. The students were divided into two groups according to the degree course followed: Sport Sciences (S) (275 students) and Nursing (N) (258 students) and compared for all variables. Results: The two groups showed statistically significant difference in weight (p=0.001) and height (p<0.001), but not in age and BMI. S showed higher levels than N in physical activity (p<0.001) and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p<0.001). By contrast, S slept better compared to N during both WD (p<0.001) and WE (p=0.002). These results suggest that S are more active, sleep better and have great adherence to the Mediterranean diet compared to N students. Moreover, the smokers were significantly higher in N (28%) compared to S (15%) (p<0.001), while no differences were found for the consumption of alcohol (S: 26% and N: 25%) or wine (S: 31% and N: 35%). Conclusions: Results showed how Sport Sciences university students, who usually more active, adopt a healthy lifestyle even during the COVID-19 lockdown. The present study showed the importance to promote strategies to maintain a healthy lifestyle even in situations of restrictions like during the lockdown to reduce the onset of diseases. References Martinez-Ferran M, Guia-Galipienso F, Sanchis-Gomar F, Pareja-Galeano H, (2020) Metabolic Impacts of Confinement during the COVID-19 Pandemic Due to Modified Diet and Physical Activity Habits. Nutrients. 12:1549.