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

BACKGROUND: University students sit too much, which is detrimental to their physical and mental health. Academic schedules, including scheduled education time and self-study time, may influence their physical activity behaviors.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate (1) the association between scheduled education time and students' physical activity levels during weekdays; (2) the association between self-study time and students' physical activity levels during the weekdays and weekends.

METHODS: 126 (68 Maastricht University (UM); 58 KU Leuven (KUL)) first-year undergraduate students in biomedical sciences (mean ± SD age: 19.3 ± 1.0, BMI: 22.0 ± 3.0, 17% men, 83% women) completed a demographics questionnaire and reported their academic activities with a 7-day logbook. Furthermore, their physical activity behavior was measured with the activPAL monitor for 7 days. Linear mixed models were used to examine the associations between university (UM versus KUL), academic activities (scheduled education time and self-study time), and students' activity levels.

RESULTS: During weekdays, each hour of scheduled education time per day was significantly associated with a 1.3 min decrease of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. Scheduled education time was not significantly associated with the sedentary time, light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and active sedentary behavior ratio. Each hour of self-study per day was significantly associated with 8 min more of sedentary time per day, 6 min less LPA per day, and 1.3 min less MVPA per day. Self-study time was not significantly associated with active sedentary behavior ratio. During the weekend, each hour of self-study time per day was associated with an additional 17.8 min of sedentary time per day and a reduction of 15.2 min of LPA per day. Self-study time was not significantly associated with the time spent doing MVPA and active sedentary behavior ratio.

CONCLUSIONS: It could be more effective to change students' physical activity behaviors during self-study than during scheduled education time. Therefore, offering a study environment that reduces sedentary behavior and promotes light-intensity physical activity, is crucial.