Sedentary living, screen time, and physical activities in medical students during the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic

Abstract

The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has established large-scale social restrictions (LSSR) to limit the transmission of Covid-19, which inherently causes an increase in screen time levels and the physical activity level of students. This study aims to compare the level of screen time and physical activity before and during LSSR. This cross-sectional study was involved 206 medical students of the Atma Jaya School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Data were collected using a questionnaire and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) - long form. A paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and McNemar test were used to compare the level of screen time and physical activity before and during LSSR. The mean screen time, sedentary time on weekday and weekend were significantly increased (Δ0.6, Δ1.7, Δ1.3 hours, respectively, all p<0.001), while total calorie of physical activity reduced (Δ-435, p<0.001). The number of students with higher screen time and sedentary time was also raised (Δ12.1%, Δ19.4%, Δ14.6%, respectively, all p<0.001), while the number of students with sufficient physical activity was significantly diminished (Δ-13.6%, p<0.001). There was a shift in the use of application types. The most significant change was Line usage, which had decreased by almost half (from 80 to 43). The pandemic situation greatly affected the students' physical activity behaviour to be more sedentary and changed the use of application type.