Subjective Ratings of Intensity Perception on Daily Physical Activity in College Students: A Preliminary Study

This study evaluated the relationship between daily physical activity (DPA) and memory capacity, as well as the association between daily activity and attention capacity, in college students in Taiwan. Participants (mean age = 20.79) wore wearable trackers for 106 days in order to collect DPA. These data were analyzed in association with their memory and attention capacities, as assessed using the spatial span test (SST) and the trail making test (TMT). The study showed significant negative correlations between memory capacity, time spent on the attention test (TSAT), calories burnt, and very active time duration (VATD) on the day before testing (r=−0.272, r=−0.176, r=0.289, r=0.254, resp.) and during the week prior to testing (r=−0.364, r=−0.395, r=0.268, r=0.241, resp.). The calories burnt and the VATD per day thresholds, which at best discriminated between normal-to-good and low attention capacity, were ≥2283 calories day−1, ≥20 minutes day−1 of very high activity (VHA) on the day before testing, or ≥13,640 calories week−1, ≥76 minutes week−1 of VHA during the week prior to testing. Findings indicated the short-term effects that VATD and calories burnt on the day before or during the week before testing significantly and negatively associated with memory and attention capacities of college students.

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Daily Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior and Alcohol Use in At-Risk College Students

Annals of Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/abm/kaab085 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ashley B West ◽

Rachel N Bomysoad ◽

Michael A Russell ◽

David E Conroy

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

College Students ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Positive Association ◽

Daily Physical Activity ◽

Physical Activity Guidelines ◽

Multiple Behavior Change ◽

Multi Method Approach ◽

Future Work

Abstract Background The college years present an opportunity to establish health behavior patterns that can track across adulthood. Health behaviors tend to cluster synergistically however, physical activity and alcohol have shown a positive association. Purpose This study applied a multi-method approach to estimate between- and within-person associations between daily physical activity, sedentary behavior and alcohol use among polysubstance-using college students. Methods Participants were screened for recent binge drinking and either tobacco or cannabis use. They wore an activPAL4 activity monitor and a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor continuously in the field for 11 days, and completed daily online questionnaires at the beginning of each day to report previous day physical activity, sedentary behavior, and alcohol consumption. Results Participants (N = 58, Mage = 20.5 years, 59% women, 69% White) reported meeting national aerobic physical activity guidelines (75%) and drinking 2–4 times in the past month (72%). On days when participants reported an hour more than usual of daily sedentary behavior, they reported drinking for less time than usual (γ = −.06). On days when participants took 1,000 more steps than usual, the longest episode of continuous transdermal alcohol detection was shorter (γ = −.03). Conclusions Daily physical activity and sedentary behavior were negatively associated with time-based measures of alcohol use with the lowest risk on days characterized by both activity and sedentary behavior. Intensive longitudinal monitoring of time-based processes can provide new insights into risk in multiple behavior change and should be prioritized for future work.

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