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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1517702

Impact of Mask Wearing Time on Fluid Consumption and Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Provisionally accepted
Mitchell E Zaplathosch Mitchell E Zaplathosch 1,2*Cory L Butts Cory L Butts 3Samantha Scarneo-Miller Samantha Scarneo-Miller 4William M Adams William M Adams 2,5,6*
  • 1 Department of Exercise Science and Sport Management, Wellstar College of Health and Human Services, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia, United States
  • 2 Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, United States
  • 3 Department of Health, Human Performance & Recreation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States
  • 4 Division of Athletic Training, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
  • 5 Adams Sports Medicine Consulting LLC, Colorado Springs, United States
  • 6 School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Purpose: To examine the associations between mask-wearing on fluid consumption and physical activity behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: 137 college students (female, 72.5%; age, 26 ± 9 y) completed a survey detailing their fluid intake, physical activity behaviors, and time spent wearing a mask throughout the day during the previous month in the Fall 2020 academic semester. Results: Increased daily mask wearing time was not associated with total fluid intake (p>0.05). Participants had greater odds of being 'somewhat active' compared to 'inactive' with an increase in mask wearing time (OR = 1.23 [1.03,1.47], p = 0.022). Conclusions: Wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic did not influence fluid intake behaviors, however, it increased the likelihood of reported greater levels of physical activity. These factors may be related to an individual being more likely to globally adopt healthier behaviors, however, this needs further exploration.

    Keywords: fluid intake, health behaviors, Exercise, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Water

    Received: 26 Oct 2024; Accepted: 19 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zaplathosch, Butts, Scarneo-Miller and Adams. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Mitchell E Zaplathosch, Department of Exercise Science and Sport Management, Wellstar College of Health and Human Services, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144, Georgia, United States
    William M Adams, Adams Sports Medicine Consulting LLC, Colorado Springs, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.