Bidirectional Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns on Health Behaviors and Quality of Life among Chinese Adults

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created challenges that have caused profound changes in health behaviors. This study aimed to explore how COVID-19 is affecting the health-related quality of life (QoL) among Chinese adults. Methods: The data of health-related behaviors and QoL were collected via online surveys from 2289 adults (mean age = 27.8 ± 12 years) who had been isolated at home for an average of 77 days. Results: More than 50% of the respondents reported that their time engaged in daily physical activity (PA) decreased, while sedentary behavior (SB) time increased compared with that before the lockdown. Only 20% of the respondents reported engaging in moderate-to-vigorous PA, 23% of adults reported changed their diets to be healthier, and 30% reported consuming more vegetables, fruits, and milk products than before home-isolation. During home-isolation, 75.2% of the adults rated their sleep quality as very good, and 65% reported that they were satisfied with their QoL. Sleep quality mediated the relationship between PA and QoL. Conclusion: The two-to-three-month home-isolation has had mixed effects on adult health behaviors in China. The participants were found to have focused more on their eating quality and patterns, which had a positive influence on their QoL. However, people should be encouraged to exercise at home with limited space to maintain a generally healthy lifestyle during a prolonged quarantine.

Does Physical Activity Matter for the Mental Health of University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

“…Furthermore, the number of active students decreased significantly in comparison to the situation before the COVID-19 outbreak in Ukraine, which is consistent with some previous studies [23,34,46,47]. Stanton et al [23] showed that negative physical activity changes are associated with increased depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.…”

“…The beneficial effect of PA on mental health is well-documented in many studies e.g., [34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. Regular exercise improves sleep, mood, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness; reduces cholesterol, body weight, tiredness; and helps boost stress relief, energy, and interest in sex.…”

“…Although home-based physical training was recommended during the COVID-19 lockdown [43][44][45], some research suggested that the intensity of PA decreased among people in Asia, America, Africa, and Europe [23,34,46,47]. On the other hand, a general increase in PA was observed in Belgium [48] and Canada [49] during the coronavirus outbreak.…”

“…We expected that the level of PA would have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the typical PA level before the coronavirus outbreak [23,34,[46][47][48][49].…”

Psychological Distress during COVID-19 Pandemic Distancing Precautions in Brazil

“…alcohol consumption). A Chinese survey found mixed effects of isolation in healthy behaviors, with increase in eating quality but less physical activity [28]. As expected, in our sample associations between these predictors and mental health were found, with a moderate effect of exercise routine.…”