Levels of physical activity of university students in COVID-19: More challenges for womencompared to men?

Studies have indicated lowerlevels of physical activity and inadequate health conditions among young university students, which may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this studyaimedto analyze the levels of physical activitybased onsociodemographic and health conditions of university students during the pandemic period. This cross-sectional study included235 students from a publicandmulti-campus university in the state of Bahia, Brazil, from July to October 2020, whenin-personactivities were suspended.Levels of physical activity were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form), and a questionnaire developed by the researchers evaluated sociodemographic and health conditions, both of which were appliedvia Google Forms®. Mostparticipants (59.1%) showed insufficient levels of physical activity. Only sexdiffered significantly (p<0.001), with a higher proportion of women (65.7%) reporting lower levels of physical activity thanmen (38.6%). Barrierschallenges may have limited the incorporation of physical activity amongwomenuniversityduringthe COVID-19 pandemic. Further researchisneeded to elucidate the findings of this study.