Analysis of the relationship between leisure physical activity and digital media during the pandemic: A focus on the Brazilian university community

This study analyzed the association between the digital/online media used for leisure physical activity (LPA) before the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of digital/online media for LPA during the pandemic among university students. We conducted a cross-sectional study with undergraduate and postgraduate students (n=1,679) from the Federal University of Uberlândia, who completed an adapted online survey. The associations between the variables: Odds Ratio (OR), complemented by a 95% confidence interval (95%CI) using binary logistic regression analyzed the use of recorded videos, live streaming, training program sheets, smartphone applications (apps), and video conferencing before and during the pandemic. The significance level was set at 5%. The results showed that students who did not use digital media for LPA before the pandemic were more likely not to continue using digital media during the pandemic (not using recorded videos, OR: 9.19; 95%CI 5.00-16.89; not using live streaming, OR: 35.04; 95%CI 7.78-157.79; not using training program sheets, OR: 39.38; 95%CI 7.30-212.54; not using apps, OR: 6.20; 95%CI 3.74-10.28). Thus, students who did not have the behavior of using digital media for LPA before the pandemic continued not showing this behavior during the pandemic, regardless of sociodemographic characteristics.