Nutritional status and psychological health in Physical Education students from Chilean universities in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic

The objective of this study is to determine nutritional status and psychological health in Physical Education students belonging to different Chilean Universities in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. It corresponded to a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, non-experimental approach. The population consisted of 254 young adults (21.46 +/- 2.61 years) who were in their first and last year of undergraduate Physical Education belonging to 7 Chilean universities. The Coronavirus Psychological Impact Questionnaire (CIPC) was used. Regarding the results, it was observed that: on average more than 30% of the sample was overweight and obese. Regarding psychological health, both men and women achieved a high score on the CIPC, placing them at high health risk. Physical Education students during the period of confinement as result of the pandemic, mostly present a normal nutritional status (IMC) and regarding psychological health, a high percentage reaches a high impact on their psychological health, being women who present decreased psychological well-being and increased alertness.