Investigating Sedentary Habits of University Students During an Online Education by Using Mobile Health Apps (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Policymaker decisions during natural disasters and epidemics significantly influence public health outcomes. This research analyzed the effects of the nationwide shift to online education, prompted by an earthquake, on the sedentary behaviors (SB) of university students. OBJECTIVE Research indicates that sedentary lifestyles significantly elevate the risk of chronic diseases. Individuals at younger ages exhibit increased susceptibility to the development of behavioral patterns that can have long-term negative impacts on health and elevate the risk of chronic illness. The increase in SBs and physical inactivity among youth constitutes a notable public health issue. This study investigates the SB of undergraduate students during a period of solely online education in comparison to traditional face-to-face education, utilizing mobile health data. METHODS This retrospective study used mobile health data to compare individuals' SB throughout the spring semester of online education and the fall semester of face-to-face education. Research was conducted in January 20 and February 20, 2024. The researchers contacted university students via class reps, email, and WhatsApp® groups. Research comprises two parts. In the first phase, 164 participants reported their socio-demographic, dietary, and online habits. The second phase began with participants discussing research goals and health data processing. The research methodology required mobile health apps to track step count, calories burnt, and distance travelled. Participants were asked to submit the data logs from mobile health applications on their smartphones. A programmer created software to convert XML mobile health data to Excel®. A software developer built a Python script in Python 3.6 to calculate cumulative steps, total distance, and daily caloric expenditure from health data collected over the fall and spring semesters of 2022-2023. A t-test was used to examine sedentary tendencies across online and face-to-face semesters since the research variables are normally distributed. RESULTS The study comprised 164 undergraduate participants, with 86% identifying as female. Data from mobile health applications were collected from participants (N = 55). One participant's health data was excluded due to inadequate information for the 2022-23 academic year (N = 54). Statistically significant differences were observed in the average number of daily steps (p=0.009), average distances traveled per day (p=0.004), and average daily physically inactive time (p=0.001). However, no significant difference was found in the average basic calories burned per day (p=0.521). CONCLUSIONS Findings indicate that online education is linked to increased screen time, unhealthy eating habits, and weight gain among specific university students. Analysis of mobile health data indicates that online education has a limited effect on promoting a sedentary lifestyle among university students. The observed results may stem from stress due to the lack of a social environment in online education, the re-emergence of negative experiences linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, and/or factors related to seasonal changes and decreased daylight hours in autumn.