Alterações na aparência e prática de atividade física em universitárias durante o distanciamento social em meio a pandemia COVID-19

Abstract

Due to the pandemic caused by the SARS-VOC-2 virus, and the lack of effective treatments, as well as the vaccination rate by 2021, social detachment has been adopted as a method of prevention. Psychological and eating disorders and decreased physical activity are potential factors that affect the perception of physical appearance during this period. Thus, the present study aimed to analyze the appearance and practice of physical activity during the social withdrawal period of COVID-19 in university students. The study included 294 women, with a mean age of 21.89 ± 4.83 years, who answered an online questionnaire, where they indicated the frequency of physical activity, as well as the presence of changes in appearance. For statistical analysis, the SPSS 25.0 software was used. Changes in appearance were described by means, standard deviation and frequencies. From the frequency of physical activity, two groups were identified: 1) “Active” for those who responded to physical activity 1 – 7 times / week; 2) “Inactive” for those who responded to practice no time / week. For changes in appearance and physical activity, a categorical analysis was performed using the Chi-square test, followed by the Z test, comparing the groups of “Inactive” and “Active”. The results showed that, in general, the participants reported negative changes. When separated by groups of ‘’ Active ‘’ and ‘’Inactive’’, in the “Active” group, 95% of students reported positive changes, while in the “Inactive” group, only 5% reported the same perception. Therefore, the period of social detachment caused negative changes in the perception of appearance and, on the other hand, being active could contribute, almost exclusively, to positive changes.