Para frear o vírus da COVID-19, que afetou mais de 775 milhões de pessoas, medidas restritivas causaram isolamento. Em decorrência, a exclusão social e solidão, atrelada a inatividade física, podem afetar negativamente o aspecto biopsicossocial dos isolados. Evidências sugerem que a inatividade física está associada a desordens mentais e insatisfação corporal. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar e identificar os níveis de atividade física, humor e a percepção da imagem corporal de universitários durante a pandemia. Participaram do estudo 293 universitários (21,55 ± 3,65 anos), sendo 162 mulheres e 131 homens. Os alunos responderam um formulário on-line com três instrumentos: International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Escala de Humor de Brunel (BRUMS) e Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). Os resultados indicam diferenças significativas (p<0,05) na Depressão entre grupos sedentário e ativo, e minimamente ativo e ativo. Similarmente, no Vigor, diferenças foram observadas entre grupos sedentário e ativo, sedentário e minimamente ativo, e minimamente ativo e ativo, e em Confusão, entre grupos minimamente ativo e ativo. No Distúrbio Total de Humor, diferenças ocorreram entre sedentário e ativo, e minimamente ativo e ativo (p<0,05). Sem diferenças significativas na percepção de imagem corporal entre grupos. Os achados indicam que a pandemia provocou alterações emocionais em todos os grupos, mas aqueles que se mantiveram ativos fisicamente, demonstraram menores índices de Depressão, Fadiga e Confusão, além de maior Vigor, comparado aos sedentários.

The regular practice of physical exercise is often associated with promoting benefits for practitioners. In recent decades, street running has become popular worldwide, with most participants being amateur runners who engage in the activity as a means of promoting quality of life. Among the psychological aspects related to exercise, studies have shown that some individuals may become susceptible to “exercise dependence,” a condition in which exercise takes a central role in a person’s life. As a result, individuals may exhibit characteristics such as: excessive training; injuries; weight control issues; withdrawal symptoms when unable to exercise; and even problems in social relationships, when exercise is exclusively prioritized. Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate and analyze levels of susceptibility to running dependence and its relationship with exercise volume and mood states (tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, and mental confusion). Methods: This was a quantitative cross-sectional study involving 761 regular Brazilian runners (59.8% male and 40.2% female) who consented to participate and answered the Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Escala de Dependência de Corrida (EDC), a Brazilian Portuguese adaptation of the Negative Addiction Scale (NAS), and the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS). The analysis plan was conducted through descriptive statistics (mean; standard deviation; median; 1st and 3rd quartiles; interquartile range and 95% confidence intervals) and inferential statistics (Spearman’s Correlation and Kruskal-Wallis Test). In all tests, the significance level adopted was p<0.05. Results: The sample was divided into three groups of susceptibility to exercise dependence: low (37.6%), moderate (36.4%), and high (26%). Scores indicative of exercise dependence showed positive correlations with practice volume variables (years of experience and weekly days, time, and mileage) and the mood factors of vigor and tension. Comparisons made using the Kruskal-Wallis Test revealed significant differences between the groups, as higher levels of susceptibility to dependence were positively associated with higher running volumes and vigor scores. Conclusions: Indicators of exercise dependence were positively related to positive mood, indicating mental health among the assessed sample.

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated unprecedented social isolation measures, profoundly disrupting daily life, educational routines, and mental health worldwide. University students, already susceptible to psychological distress, encountered intensified challenges under remote learning and prolonged confinement. This longitudinal study examined fluctuations in anxiety and mood among 102 Brazilian university students during the pandemic, distinguishing between those solely engaged in academic pursuits and those simultaneously balancing work and study. Data collected via the Brunel Mood Scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory in April and July 2021 revealed that students exclusively focused on studies exhibited significant increases in depressive symptoms, anger, confusion, and anxiety, alongside diminished vigor. Conversely, participants who combined work and study reported reduced tension, fatigue, confusion, and overall mood disturbance, coupled with heightened vigor across the same period. Notably, women demonstrated greater vulnerability to anxiety and mood fluctuations, with socioeconomic disparities particularly pronounced among females managing dual roles, who reported lower family income. These findings suggest that occupational engagement may serve as a protective factor against psychological distress during crises, underscoring the urgent need for tailored mental health interventions and institutional support to mitigate the enduring impacts of pandemic-related adversities on the student population.

The regular practice of physical exercise is often associated with promoting benefits for practitioners. In recent decades, street running has become popular worldwide, with most participants being recreational runners who engage in the activity primarily to promote health, well-being, leisure, and quality of life, although some also participate with competitive goals. Among the psychological aspects related to exercise, studies have shown that some individuals may become susceptible to “exercise dependence,” a condition in which exercise takes a central role in a person’s life. As a result, individuals may exhibit characteristics such as excessive training, injuries; weight control issues, withdrawal symptoms when unable to exercise and even problems in social relationships when exercise is exclusively prioritized. Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate and analyze levels of susceptibility to running dependence and its relationship with exercise volume and mood states (tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, and mental confusion). Methods: This was a quantitative cross-sectional study involving 761 regular Brazilian runners (59.8% male and 40.2% female) who consented to participate and answered the Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Escala de Dependência de Corrida (EDC), a Brazilian Portuguese adaptation of the Negative Addiction Scale (NAS), and the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS). The analysis plan was conducted through descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median, 1st and 3rd quartiles, interquartile range, and 95% confidence intervals) and inferential statistics (Spearman’s Correlation and Kruskal–Wallis Test). In all tests, the significance level adopted was p < 0.05. Results: The sample was divided into three groups of susceptibility to exercise dependence: low (37.6%), moderate (36.4%), and high (26%). Scores indicative of greater susceptibility to exercise dependence showed positive correlations with running practice volume (years of experience, weekly training frequency, weekly training duration, and weekly mileage), as well as with vigor. Although a statistically significant correlation was also observed for tension, its magnitude was trivial (rs = 0.080). Comparisons using the Kruskal–Wallis test showed that higher susceptibility levels were associated with greater running volumes and higher raw vigor scores, whereas no significant group differences were observed for the remaining mood states. Conclusions: Higher susceptibility to exercise dependence was associated with greater running volume and higher raw vigor scores. No consistent associations were observed with negative mood states, except for a trivial correlation with tension. These findings suggest that greater susceptibility to exercise dependence among runners was primarily associated with higher raw vigor scores rather than with broader alterations in mood states.