None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
At the process of COVID-19 pandemic, daily step counts dramatically decreased approximately 67.7% from 8525 steps/d in pre-COVID-19 quarantine to 2754 steps/d during COVID-19 quarantine in young adults. That is, physical inactivity became another pandemic accompanying COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, since the beginning of COVID-19, there have been some efforts to help individuals be physically active during COVID-19. Numerous fitness centers and trainers have been giving free online physical fitness programs via social media, video-conference and other channels and reviews related physical inactivity and recommendations about appropriate physical activities for healthy life have been presented. On the other hand, a study resulted in positive improvements in depression and stress scores after 4-week online mindfulness yoga practice in university students during COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, doing regular exercise at moderate intensity and being physically active provide both potential behavior change and many benefits to human health in healthy individuals and patients with chronic diseases. These are decreased adipose tissue, increased cardio-respiratory fitness level, and metabolic homeostasis, interaction with immunoregulatory hormones that affects immune response and suppression of active inflammation. Furthermore, exercise can modify white cells distribution, phenotype and cytokine production. It therefore plays an important role to affect susceptibility to infection and prevent cardiovascular diseases and viral respiratory diseases like COVID-19. However, there is no prospective randomized controlled study investigating effectiveness of physical activity counseling (PAC) in university students, to our knowledge. Therefore, in current study, it was planned to investigate the effects of online PAC based on increasing daily step counts on daily average step counts, physical activity level, anxiety, depression and/or QOL in university students.
Interventions
Physical activity counseling (PAC):
A 4-week PAC based on increasing daily step counts was performed by an experienced (>5 years) physiotherapist in university students. The PAC consisted of regular outdoor walking, stepping inside the home, doing leisure activities and/or doing housework. While students in training group were informed about types of physical activities including vigorous/moderate physical activities (basketball, volleyball, fitness, pilates, yoga, gardening, doing sports, etc
Physical activity counseling (PAC): A 4-week PAC based on increasing daily step counts was performed by an experienced (>5 years) physiotherapist in university students. The PAC consisted of regular outdoor walking, stepping inside the home, doing leisure activities and/or doing housework. While students in training group were informed about types of physical activities including vigorous/moderate physical activities (basketball, volleyball, fitness, pilates, yoga, gardening, doing sports, etc.), outdoor walking, stepping inside the home, doing leisure activities and/or doing housework, students in control group were asked to continue their normal daily living activities. During 4-week, students in each group were remotely followed up via mailing for the diaries and daily step counts, telephone texting for the weekly connection about physical activities and direct 5-10 min telephone call when a student could not be reached by mail and/or telephone texting. At the end of 4-week, students in control group were similarly informed about types of physical activities and directed to increase daily step counts like training group. Students in training group were gradually gotten accustomed to regular walking with the aim of increasing daily step counts through weekly group telephone texting and direct 5-10 min telephone call if necessary. However, both online course hours during the day and curfew for under 20 ages related with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were considered. Therefore, students were not forced to walk outside. While eligible students took a walk outside, ineligible students took short walks to reach 10000 steps/d at home for at least 10 min at a time and 3-8 times/day. In the first week, the students were asked to walk for totally 30 min in a day, minimum 3 days per non-consecutive weekdays and increase their baseline daily step count by approximately 500-1000 steps/d. In the second week, students were asked to add 500-1000 steps on daily step counts taken in previous week and reach 7500 steps/d. In the third week, students were asked to add 2000 steps on daily step counts taken in previous week and reach 10000 steps/d. In last week, students were asked to walk over 10000 steps for everyday. The students were instructed about general recommendations for safe physical activity such as not walking when hungry, taking a walk 1-2 hours after meals, drinking water after walking and walking using a mask. The students recorded their daily step counts in their diaries every day.
Sponsors
GÜLSAH BARGI
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria were *volunteering to participate in the study, *being a university student actively educated by distance learning *being greater than or equal to 18 years *having a smartphone or pedometer providing knowledge about daily step counts.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria were *having any physical disability, infection, cooperation problem, severe asthma, an orthopedic or a neurological disease which would prevent doing regular physical activity *being in a quarantine situation.
Outcome results
None listed