COVID-19 pandemic brings a sedentary lifestyle: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study

Abstract

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to pose profound challenges on society. Governments around the world have managed to mitigate its spread through strategies including social distancing; however, this may result in the adoption of sedentary lifestyle. This study aimed to investigate: 1) physical activity (PA) levels, sedentary behavior (SB) and sleep among young adults during COVID-19 epidemic, and 2) the change in these behaviors before and during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 631 young adults (38.8% males) participated in the cross-sectional study and completed an online survey that included five components: general information, COVID-19 related issues, PA, SB, and sleep. For longitudinal study, PA, SB, and sleep data collected from 70 participants before and during COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed. Results: Participants reported engaging in low PA, high SB and long sleep duration during COVID-19 pandemic. Females had greater concern for COVID-19 related issues and engaged in more prevention strategies than males. Moreover, a significant decline in PA while increase in both times spent in SB and sleep were determined after COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated a sedentary lifestyle in young adults in responses to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, which will assist health policy makers and practitioners in the development of population specific health education and behavior interventions during this pandemic and for other future events.

Determinants of physical activity maintenance during the Covid-19 pandemic: a focus on fitness apps

“…The results of the study showed that moderate PA and vigorous PA decreased (but sedentary times did not increase) during lockdown—despite the fact that several recommendations were issued that aim to encourage people to stay physically active during Covid-19 [ 7 , 29 , 38 ]. While previous studies have reported similar decreases in PA during Covid-19 [ 15–18 ], these studies were largely cross-sectional in nature. The studies cannot rule out that within-participant differences drive the change over time.…”

“…Industry actors that analyzed people’s mobility via wearables or smartphones found a significant decline in average step count during the Covid-19 pandemic (e.g., Fitbit Inc. [ 8 ] and Apple Inc. [ 14 ]). Additionally, cross-sectional studies showed reduced PA and increased sedentariness during Covid-19-caused lockdown among people of all ages in China [ 15 ], Italy [ 16 ], Canada [ 17 ], and Australia [ 18 ]. Those studies provide descriptive information on patterns of PA and the associated negative health effects.…”

“…Those studies provide descriptive information on patterns of PA and the associated negative health effects. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no longitudinal studies (with one exception, which recruited 70 out of 631 participants for a follow-up [ 15 ]) and none of the studies examined PA app use-related determinants that might have been helpful to residents to remain physically active during Covid-19-caused lockdown. In what follows, we briefly review the existing literature on PA apps and their potential to buffer the decline in PA during Covid-19-caused lockdown.…”

Moving more and sitting less – Now more than ever-an important message for the prevention and treatment of chronic disease and pandemics

“…, 21. , 22. In this context, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, noncommunicable disease, and viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2, can be characterized as a new troubling syndemic, 23 synergistically interacting with one-another and, when all are present, significantly increase the risk of poor health outcomes.…”

Back Pain and Related Factors in Patients with COVID-19

“…Studies have reported that physical inactivity can lead to respiratory dysfunction and decrease aerobic capacity even in patients without underlying pulmonary conditions (17). It has been stated in certain studies that a lack of physical activity due to quarantine practices to prevent the spread of the pandemic reduces the aerobic capacity of people and there is clearly a need to exercise at home during quarantine (18)(19)(20). Although COVID-19 typically presents respiratory manifestations, surely, there is an increased prevalence of thromboembolic disease and pulmonary embolism in critically ill patients with a lack of physical activity (21,22).…”