Levels of Daily Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in Maastricht University's Undergraduate First Year Students

Maastricht University First Year Students

Maastricht University 2017-2018 undergraduate first year students are invited to participate in the study. The participants are invited to complete a demographics questionnaire, wear an ActivPAL accelerometer for 7 days, and to complete daily diaries (modified International Physical Activity Questionnaire) for 7 days.

Altro: No intervention

No intervention is given to the participants. This is an observational study exploring the students' levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in their natural setting.

Time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer

The ActivPAL accelerometer senses limb position and activity. From this information, it can reliably discriminate periods of upright activity from seated or lying activities. Furthermore, the cadence (stepping rate) of upright activities can be accurately recorded. Energy expenditure (estimated by the ActivPAL accelerometer using Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET)) and cadence (step frequency, i.e., steps per minute) will be used to distinguish between sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping. The time spent sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping will be measured and compared against global recommendations of physical activity (e.g., WHO recommendations).

Correlations (r) between age (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between age (days/months/years) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between gender (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between gender ("gender variant/non-conforming" or "male" or "female" or "transgender male" or "transgender female" or "prefer not to answer" or "not listed (please specify)") and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between height (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between height (metres) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between weight (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between weight (kilograms) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between race/ethnicity (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between race/ethnicity ("White/Caucasian" or "African" or "Middle Eastern" or "South Asian" or "Latino/Hispanic" or "East Asian" or "Caribbean" or "Prefer not to answer" or "Other (please specify)") and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between nationality (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between nationality (reported by name of nationality) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between living area (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between living area (coded as "rural" or "urban" by analysing postal code) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between education status (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between education status (years of study, years in tertiary education and hours of classes per day) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between commuting status (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between commuting status (i.e., mode of transportation, availability of transportation type, and travel duration in minutes) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between employment status (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between employment status (absence or presence of a part-time job secondary to being a student) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between living status (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between living status ("Alone", "With parent(s)/guardian(s)", "With siblings", "With friend(s)/flatmate(s)", "With partner(s)", "With child(ren)", and/or "Other (please specify)") and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between social class (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between social class (measured by the highest achieved level of education by parents(s)/guardian(s)) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between gym or sports club membership (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between gym membership (absence, presence or presence but inactive of a gym or sports club membership) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between sleep duration (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between sleep duration (hours) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between smoking status (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between smoking status ("Yes", "No, I stopped less than 6 months ago", "No, I stopped more than 6 months ago", or "No, I have never smoked") and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between smoking type (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between smoking type ("Pipe", "Cigarettes/Shag", "Cigar", "E-cigarettes/Vaporizers or any other electronic devices", "Not applicable" or "Other (please specify)") and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between smoking frequency (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between smoking frequency (counts per day) and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).

Correlations (r) between alcohol consumption (measured with a Demographics Questionnaire) and time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping; measured by the ActivPAL accelerometer)

The correlations between alcohol consumption ("Every day", "3-5 times a week", "Once a week", "Only on weekends", "Only on special occasions" or "Never") and the time (minutes) spent in various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping) will be measured to explore the determinants of the various activities (sleeping, being sedentary, standing and stepping).