The Association between Academic Schedule and Physical Activity Behaviors in University Students

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sports Science
• Higher Education

Background:

• University students exhibit high levels of sedentary behavior, negatively impacting physical and mental health.
• Academic schedules, encompassing both scheduled education and self-study time, are potential influencers of physical activity levels in students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between scheduled education time and physical activity in university students on weekdays.
• To investigate the association between self-study time and physical activity levels on both weekdays and weekends.

Main Methods:

• 126 first-year biomedical science students from two universities wore activPAL monitors for 7 days to measure physical activity.
• Students completed a 7-day logbook detailing academic activities (scheduled education and self-study time).
• Linear mixed models were employed to analyze the associations between academic activities and physical activity metrics.

Main Results:

• Each hour of scheduled education time was linked to a 1.3-minute decrease in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on weekdays.
• Each hour of self-study correlated with an 8-minute increase in sedentary time, a 6-minute decrease in light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and a 1.3-minute decrease in MVPA daily.
• On weekends, each hour of self-study was associated with 17.8 minutes more sedentary time and 15.2 minutes less LPA.

Conclusions:

• Interventions to modify university students' physical activity behaviors may be more effective when targeting self-study periods rather than scheduled education time.
• Creating study environments that minimize sedentary behavior and encourage light-intensity physical activity is essential for student well-being.