JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, sanitary context and e-learning has greatly modified students’ lifestyles and led to deteriorations in their mental health. An increase of anxiety and depressive symptoms, sedentary behaviors, a reduction in physical activity and a stronger tendency to move towards unhealthy diet have been demonstrated. This finding highlights the need for innovative interventions to promote healthy lifestyle among students.

Objective:

The present research protocol aims to evaluate the effects of an innovative intervention program on the lifestyle and psychological state of students

Methods:

Students from University of Nîmes were recruited and randomly assigned to one of the two following conditions: an intervention group and a control group. Participants in the intervention group were engaged in an 8-weeks program of PA. Prior to the start of the program, design-based innovative workshops were conducted with participants to ensure that the program was co-constructed by the users and met their specific needs. Students in the control group did not receive any intervention. For each group, measures of physical activity, sedentary time, anthropometric data, sleep, physical condition, and psychological variables (e.g., anxiety, depression, motivation, body appreciation, perceived control, well-being) were conducted at baseline and 9 weeks later.

Results:

A total of 110 participants were initially included. Reporting of the results is projected for the spring of 2022.

Conclusions:

It is anticipated that this innovative intervention co-constructed by pairs will promote a healthier lifestyle and psychological health of students. The pandemic has highlighted the need to pay more attention to the physical and psychological health of students. For this, the development and evaluation of innovative interventions to address their specific needs is essential. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05019482.