Physical Activity, Nutritional Habits and Sleeping Behavior in Health Professions Students and Employees of a Swiss University of Applied Sciences During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period: a Questionnaire Survey Study.

Background The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 led to the COVID-19 pandemic since January 2020. The Swiss Federal Council prescribed a lockdown of non-essential businesses. Students and employees of higher education institutions had to install home office and participate in online lectures. Objective The aim of this survey was to evaluate lifestyle habits such as physical activity (PA), sitting time, nutritional (expressed as median Mediterranean Diet Score; mMDS) and alcohol consumption habits and sleeping behavior during a two month period of confinement and social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey participants were students and employees of a Swiss University of Applied Sciences. Methods All students and employees from Bern University of Applied Sciences - Department of Health Professions (Nursing, Nutrition & Dietetics, Midwifery, Physiotherapy) were invited to complete an anonymous online survey during the COVID-19 confinement period. Information on the lifestyle dimensions PA, sitting time, nutritional and alcohol consumption habits, and sleep was gathered using adaptations of validated questionnaires. Frequency analyses and non-parametric statistical methods were used for data analysis. Significance was set at 5% level of alpha error. Results Prevalence of non-health-enhancing PA was 37.1% with participants of the division of physiotherapy showing lowest prevalence. Prevalence of long sitting time (> 8 hours.day-1) was 36.1%. Median mMDS was 9 (on max. 15) with participants of the division of Nutrition & Dietetics being more adherent to a Mediterranean diet as compared to the other groups. Prevalence of non-adherence to the Swiss alcohol consumption recommendations was 8.3%. Prevalence of low sleeping quality was 44.7% while median sleeping duration was eight hours, which is considered healthy for adult populations. Conclusions In the group analysis, differences in PA, sitting time and mMDS were observed between different divisions of health professions as well as between BSc and MSc students and employees. Therefore, public health messages regarding healthy lifestyle habits during home confinement should be more group specific. The results of this study may provide support for the implementation of group-specific health promotion interventions at universities in pandemic conditions. Clinicaltrial ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04502108; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04502108.