scholarly journals Immediate Impact of the COVID-19 Confinement on Physical Activity Levels in Spanish Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubén López-Bueno ◽  
Joaquín Calatayud ◽  
Lars L. Andersen ◽  
Carlos Balsalobre-Fernández ◽  
José Casaña ◽  
...  

Enacted measures to control the spread of COVID-19 disease such as compulsory confinement may influence health behaviors. The present study investigated changes in physical activity (PA) levels during the first days of confinement. Using an online survey, the Spanish population (n = 2042, 54% women, age 35.9 (SD 13.6) years) replied to questions concerning sociodemographic characteristics as well as PA behavior before and during the first week of enacted isolation. Physical activity vital sign (PAVS) short form was used to estimate weekly minutes of PA before and during the isolation period. Statistical analysis used the following tests: Mc Nemar Chi-squared tests, independent and paired samples t-test, and effect size (Cohen’s d). During the first week of confinement, participants reduced their weekly PA levels by 20% (~45.2 weekly minutes (95% CI: 37.4−53.0)). This led to a decrease from 60.6% to 48.9% (difference: 11.7%) (p < 0.0001) in the number of participants meeting the recommended World Health Organization (WHO) PA levels. Subgroups including men, participants aged 43 or over, and those not holding a university degree had the greatest reductions in both weekly minutes of PA and adherence to guidelines. The PA levels of the Spanish population generally declined during the first days of COVID-19 confinement.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9231
Author(s):  
Florin Valentin Leuciuc ◽  
Petru Ghervan ◽  
Ileana Monica Popovici ◽  
Florian Benedek ◽  
Andreea Gabriela Lazar ◽  
...  

Nowadays, a descending trend concerning physical activity levels among youth has been recorded, as well as differences between males and females; more than half recorded a low level of the physical activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the social and educational sustainability of physical education and to determine the level of physical activity by using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short form for Romanian undergraduate and graduate students. In our study, we included students and applied the IPAQ short form anonymously. They gave their consent to use these personal data only for scientific purposes. Overall, two thirds of the subjects (according to the IPAQ scoring protocol) and more than half (according to the World Health Organization recommendation for physical activity) consider themselves to be active. The present study showed that there is a prevalence of insufficient physical activity among Romanian University students (around 40%). The situation seems to be better than in other countries, but in self-evaluation, many people tend to overestimate their potential. To avoid this aspect and gain some objectivity, it is better to use a gadget in order to measure the level of their physical activity.


Author(s):  
Jan Wilke ◽  
Lisa Mohr ◽  
Adam S. Tenforde ◽  
Pascal Edouard ◽  
Chiara Fossati ◽  
...  

Governments have restricted public life during the COVID-19 pandemic, inter alia closing sports facilities and gyms. As regular exercise is essential for health, this study examined the effect of pandemic-related confinements on physical activity (PA) levels. A multinational survey was performed in 14 countries. Times spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as well as in vigorous physical activity only (VPA) were assessed using the Nordic Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form). Data were obtained for leisure and occupational PA pre- and during restrictions. Compliance with PA guidelines was calculated based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). In total, n = 13,503 respondents (39 ± 15 years, 59% females) were surveyed. Compared to pre-restrictions, overall self-reported PA declined by 41% (MVPA) and 42.2% (VPA). Reductions were higher for occupational vs. leisure time, young and old vs. middle-aged persons, previously more active vs. less active individuals, but similar between men and women. Compared to pre-pandemic, compliance with WHO guidelines decreased from 80.9% (95% CI: 80.3–81.7) to 62.5% (95% CI: 61.6–63.3). Results suggest PA levels have substantially decreased globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key stakeholders should consider strategies to mitigate loss in PA in order to preserve health during the pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-135
Author(s):  
Virtudes Peláez-Flor ◽  
Alejandro Prieto-Ayuso

El ámbito educativo es uno de los pilares fundamentales a través del cual el sedentarismo puede ser combatido. En este sentido, la asignatura de Educación Física es considerada como pieza clave para aumentar los niveles de actividad física en los alumnos. Sin embargo, debido a que las propias clases de Educación Física resultan insuficientes para aumentar los niveles de actividad física recomendados por la Organización Mundial de la Salud, surgen los descansos activos, cuyo objetivo principal es reducir las conductas sedentarias y la obesidad en los alumnos, por medio de AF estructurada en las aulas. Así pues, el objetivo principal del presente trabajo es presentar un programa de descansos activos para Educación Primaria, titulado Aprendo Moviéndome. Con este programa, se pretende ofrecer un nuevo recurso al profesorado de Educación Primaria a través del cual poder aplicar breves sesiones de actividad física con los alumnos para poder lograr beneficios como la mejora de salud, la atención, el comportamiento o el rendimiento académico, entre otros. El programa Aprendo Moviéndome está compuesto por ocho sesiones de descansos activos de una duración de entre 10 y 12 minutos, diseñados para trabajar en clase o en el patio del colegio durante el horario lectivo por el maestro. Las sesiones han sido diseñadas para trabajar contenidos curriculares pertenecientes al Real Decreto 126/2014 de Educación Primaria. Cada descanso activo está dividido en tres partes: calentamiento, desarrollo y vuelta a la calma. Como prospectiva de investigación se recomienda la aplicación del programa a un contexto real, con el propósito de conocer fortalezas y debilidades del mismo. The educational context is one of the fundamental pillars through which sedentary lifestyle can be reduced. In that sense, Physical Education is considered a key element to increase physical activity levels in children. However, due to the fact that only the PE subject is insufficient to increase the PA levels recommended by the World Health Organization, active breaks emerged. The main objective of active breaks is to reduce sedentary behaviors and obesity in students, through structured physical activity in classrooms. Thus, the main objective of this work is to present an active break program for Primary Education, entitled Aprendo Moviéndome. With this program, it is intended to offer a new resource to primary teachers through which they can apply short physical activity sessions with students, with the purpose to achieve benefits related to health, attention, behavior or academic performance, among others. The Aprendo Moviéndome program is made up of eight sessions between ten and 12 minutes. It has been designed to be conducted in class or in the schoolyard during school hours by the teacher. The sessions have been designed to work on curricular content belonging to Royal Decree 126/2014 of Primary Education. Each session is divided into three parts: warm-up, development, and cool down. As prospective investigation, the application of the program to a real context is recommended, with the purpose of knowing its strengths and weaknesses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Mayo ◽  
G. Liguori ◽  
E. Iglesias-Soler ◽  
R. J. Copeland ◽  
I. Clavel San Emeterio ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The World Health Organization (WHO) considers physical inactivity (PIA) as a critical noncommunicable factor for disease and mortality, affecting more women than men. In 2013, the WHO set a 10% reduction of the PIA prevalence, with the goal to be reached by 2025. Changes in the 2013–2017 period of physical inactivity prevalence in the 28 European Union (EU) countries were evaluated to track the progress in achieving WHO 2025 target. Methods In 2013 and 2017 EU Special Eurobarometers, the physical activity levels reported by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire of 53,607 adults were analyzed. Data were considered as a whole sample and country-by-country. A χ2 test was used to analyze the physical inactivity prevalence (%) between countries, analyzing women and men together and separately. Additionally, PIA prevalence was analyzed between years (2013–2017) for the overall EU sample and within-country using a Z-Score for two population proportions. Results The PIA prevalence increased between 2013 and 2017 for the overall EU sample (p <  0.001), and for women (p = 0.04) and men (p < 0.001) separately. Data showed a higher PIA prevalence in women versus men during both years (p <  0.001). When separately considering changes in PIA by gender, only Belgium’s women and Luxembourg’s men showed a reduction in PIA prevalence. Increases in PIA prevalence over time were observed in women from Austria, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia and in men from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain. Conclusions PIA prevalence showed an overall increase across the EU and for both women and men between 2013 and 2017, with higher rates of PIA reported for women versus men during both years. PIA prevalence was reduced in only Belgium’s women and Luxembourg’s men. Our data indicate a limited gender-sensible approach while tacking PIA prevalence with no progress reaching global voluntary reductions of PIA for 2025.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine A. Hargreaves ◽  
Craig Lee ◽  
Matthew Jenkins ◽  
Jessica R. Calverley ◽  
Ken Hodge ◽  
...  

Covid-19 lockdown restrictions constitute a population-wide “life-change event” disrupting normal daily routines. It was proposed that as a result of these lockdown restrictions, physical activity levels would likely decline. However, it could also be argued that lifestyle disruption may result in the formation of increased physical activity habits. Using a longitudinal design, the purpose of this study was to investigate changes in physical activity of different intensities, across individuals who differed in activity levels prior to lockdown restrictions being imposed, and across three time periods: pre-, during- and post-lockdown. This study also examined the extent to which the experience of daily hassles explained any changes in physical activity. A convenience sample (N = 759) recruited through social media, provided data from an online survey administered during weeks 2–3 of a 5-week lockdown and 231 participants provided complete data again 6 weeks post-lockdown (72% female, M age = 43 years). Participants completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form and the Daily Hassles Scale. Results showed that vigorous and moderate intensity PA were significantly lower during- and post-lockdown compared to pre-lockdown in those individuals who had been highly active pre-lockdown. In contrast, for moderately active individuals pre-lockdown, vigorous and moderate intensity PA was significantly higher during-lockdown compared to pre-lockdown, and these increased levels of vigorous PA were maintained post-lockdown. Participants experienced daily hassles due to inner concerns, time pressures, family, and financial concerns to the same extent during- and post-lockdown. Those daily hassles had a small negative (Standardized β = −0.11; p &lt; 0.05) predictive effect on post-lockdown PA. It appears that to understand the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on PA, the activity status of individuals pre-lockdown needs to be taken into account. The daily hassles appeared to play a role in post-lockdown PA behavior, but future research should investigate why these results occurred.


Author(s):  
Małgorzata Bronikowska ◽  
Jana Krzysztoszek ◽  
Marlena Łopatka ◽  
Mateusz Ludwiczak ◽  
Beata Pluta

This study aimed to compare physical activity (PA) levels before and during a pandemic lockdown among adolescent Polish youths in relation to meeting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and identify potential environmental factors that may affect these levels. An online survey tool that included validated measures of adolescents’ MVPA and socio-environmental, potential confounders was administered to youths (e.g., lack of classmates, motivation, possibility of choosing any physical exercise time, possibility of choosing your own exercises, home environment). The analytic sample comprised 127 adolescents aged 15.4 ± 0.5 years on average (52% girls and 48% boys). The results highlight that among adolescents who did not meet the WHO MVPA recommendations before the lockdown, 13.4% had an increased frequency of PA (from 2.9 to 5.4 day/week) (p = 0.01) during the lockdown. In the group who did meet these recommendations before the lockdown, 50% significantly decreased their level of MVPA below the WHO’s recommendations (p = 0.01). Self-rated health for PA showed a significantly strong correlation with MVPA in the group of students who met the WHO recommendations before the pandemic (r = 0.76; p < 0.05) but failed to maintain that recommendation during the COVID-19 restriction. The results suggest a negative impact of the pandemic on PA undertaken by youths. Based on these results we see the need for increased action by both Physical Education (PE) teachers and parents to motivate and support youngsters in taking up systematic PA consciously.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gizem Karakaş ◽  
Çetin Yaman

In this research it was aimed to examine of the quality of life according to physical activity status of parents who have disabled individual. In the study using the descriptive survey model, convenience sampling was used for the creation of the sample. The parents of 164 disabled individuals(132 mother; =40,5±8,90) ve 32 father; =46,21±9,74) who attended to various special education institutions in Sakarya province participated in the research. The children of the participating families have autism, mental, visual, hearing and physical disabilities. In this study, a Family Information Form, which was prepared by the researcher, was used to reach the demographic informations of parents. With the aim of measuring the quality of life in parents, World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref Form (WHOQOL-BREF), which was adopted to Turkish by Eser and his friends (1999) and for measuring the level of physical activity of parents, International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ), which was adoped to Turkish by Öztürk (2005) were used in the study. All data were collected by face-to-face interview technique. WHOQOL-BREF scale consists of 5 sub-dimensions including the physical area, psychological area, social area, environmental area and environmental TR area created by adding a question in Turkish adaptation and 27 questions. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of physical area subscale is .77., psychological area subscale is .71, social area is .61, environmental area is .81 and environmental area Turkey is .78. IPAQ self-administered 'last 7 days' short form was used in this study. The form provides information on time spent on walking, moderate-severe and violent activities. The calculation of the total score of the short form is based on the sum of time (minutes) and frequency (days) (Öztürk, 2005). After the descriptive statistical processes had been applied in the  analysis of datas, an independent t-test and chi-square test to detect from which groups the differences between the groups originate. Data was evaluated by using SPSS for Windows 15 software.As a result, the fact that the quality of life parents who have disabled individual and doing sport was found to be at a higher level of those who have individual but not doing sport. In addition to this doing sport was detected to increase the quality of life parents who have a disabled individual. As a result, it is thought that the parents of physically active parents have higher quality of life and physical activity levels and as a result they will provide a better and healthier life for their children.Their families are thought to be the first step in raising awareness and guiding them in order to enable them to live as healthy families and to raise healthy individuals. ÖzetBu araştırmada, engelli bireye sahip ebeveynlerin fiziksel aktivite durumlarına göre yaşam kalitelerinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Tarama modeli kullanılan çalışmada, örneklemin oluşturulmasında kolayda örnekleme yönteminden yararlanılmıştır. Araştırmaya Sakarya ilinde çeşitli özel eğitim kurumlarına devam eden 164 engelli bireyin ebeveynleri (132 anne ve 32 baba) katılmıştır. Çalışmaya katılan ailelerin çocukları otizm, zihinsel, görme, işitme, bedensel engele sahiptirler. Kişilerin demografik bilgilerine ulaşma amaçlı araştırmacı tarafından hazırlanan aile bilgi formu, ebeveynlerin yaşam kalitesini ölçmeye yönelik Eser vd.’nin (1999) Türkçe’ye uyarladığı Dünya Sağlık Örgütü Yaşam Kalitesi Ölçeği-Kısa Formu (WHOQOL-BREF) ve ebeveynlerin fiziksel aktivite düzeylerini ölçmek için Öztürk’ün (2005) Türkçe’ye uyarladığı Uluslararası Fiziksel Aktivite Anketi-Kısa Form (IPAQ) kullanılmıştır. Tüm veriler yüz yüze görüşme tekniği ile toplanmıştır. WHOQOL-BREF ölçeği bedensel alan, ruhsal alan, sosyal alan, çevresel alan ve Türkçe’ye uyarlamada bir sorunun eklenmesiyle oluşturulan çevresel TR alan olmak üzere toplam 5 alt boyuttan ve 27 sorudan oluşmaktadır. Alt boyutlara ait iç tutarlılık katsayıları sırasıyla, .77, .71, .61, .81, .78 olarak tespit edilmiştir. IPAQ ölçeği yürüme, orta-şiddetli ve şiddetli aktivitelerde harcanan zaman hakkında bilgi vermektedir ve skorunun hesaplanması süre (dakika) ve frekans (gün) toplamından yapılmaktadır. Elde edilen verilerin analizinde betimsel istatistiksel işlemler uygulandıktan sonra, değişkenler arası farklılıkları ölçmek amacıyla independent samples t-test ve ki-kare testi yapılmıştır. Veriler SPSS 15.0 programında değerlendirilmiş ve anlamlılık düzeyi olarak 0.05 kullanılmıştır. Analiz sonuçları incelendiğinde, fiziksel aktivite yapan engelli bireye sahip ebeveynlerin bedensel alan hariç tüm alanlarının ve fiziksel aktivite düzeylerinin fiziksel aktivite yapmayanlardan yüksek olduğu bulunmuştur. Dolayısıyla fiziksel aktivitenin ruhsal, sosyal, çevresel yaşam kalitesini olumlu yönde etkilediği ve fiziksel aktivitenin engelli bireye sahip ebeveynlerin yaşam kalitesini yükselttiği söylenebilir. Sonuç olarak, fiziksel aktivite yapan ebeveynlerin yaşam kalitelerinin ve fiziksel aktivite düzeylerinin daha yüksek olduğu buna bağlı olarak da çocukları için daha güzel ve sağlıklı bir yaşam sunabilme imkânları olacağı düşünülmektedir. Aileleri bu konuda bilinçlendirmek ve yönlendirmek onların daha sağlıklı aileler olarak yaşamasına ve sağlıklı bireyler yetiştirmesine imkân sağlamak için atılması gereken ilk adım olarak düşünülmektedir.


Author(s):  
Ömer Eryiğit ◽  
Serap Mungan Ay

The aim of this study is to examine the physical activity levels of academicians working at the sports science faculties of state and foundation universities. The sample group of the study consists of academicians working at Marmara University and Istanbul Gelişim University. As a data collection tool in research, in addition to the personal information form "International Physical Activity questionnaire", developed by the World Health Organization and adapted to Turkish by Öztürk (2005) was used. In the evaluation of the data, besides descriptive statistics, Chi-Square test was used. As a result of the analysis, a difference was found between the physical activity levels of the academicians working at Marmara University according to their gender, age and monthly income level. No statistically significant difference was found between the gender, age, marital status, weekly lesson hours, university service years, monthly income and body mass indexes and physical activity levels of the academicians working at Istanbul Gelişim University. As a result, it has been determined that the participation levels of the academicians working in the sports science faculties of state and foundation universities differ in terms of some socio-demographic characteristics. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0770/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>


Author(s):  
Fakir M. Amirul Islam ◽  
Jahar Bhowmik ◽  
Donny M. Camera ◽  
Ralph Maddison ◽  
Gavin W. Lambert

Self-reported assessment of physical activity (PA) is commonly used in public health research. The present study investigated the concordance of self-reported PA assessed using the global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ) and two different measurement approaches. Participants (n = 307, aged 30–75 years with hypertension) were recruited from a rural area in Bangladesh. We analyzed the difference between the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations of more than 600 metabolic-equivalent time-minutes (MET-min) and the self-reported active hours, at least 2.5 h per week. Tests of sensitivity and specificity were conducted to determine concordance between the two measures. According to the WHO criteria, 255 (83%) participants were active more than 600 MET-min per week and 172 (56%) people were physically active 2.5 h or more per week, indicating a 27% difference in self-reported PA. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and concordance between the two measures were 64%, 92%, 98%, 34% and 70%, respectively. Considering the WHO MET-min as the appropriate measure, 89 (35%) were false negative (FN). Older age, professionals and businesspersons were associated with a higher proportion of FN. There is a gap between self-reported PA, thus a better estimate of PA may result from combining two criteria to measure PA levels.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 033310242110292
Author(s):  
Arão Belitardo de Oliveira ◽  
Juliane Prieto Peres Mercante ◽  
Mario Fernando Prieto Peres ◽  
Maria Del Carmen B Molina ◽  
Paulo A Lotufo ◽  
...  

Background Physical inactivity has been linked to headache disorders but estimates based on the current World Health Organization physical activity guidelines are unknown. Objective To test the associations between headache disorders and physical inactivity in the ELSA-Brasil cohort. Methods In a cross-sectional analysis, linear (continuous variables) and logistic regression models (categorical variables) tested the associations of physical activity levels in the leisure time, commuting time, and combined leisure time physical activity + commuting time physical activity domains with headache disorders, adjusted for the effects of sociodemographic data, cardiovascular risk variables, psychiatric disorders, and migraine prophylaxis medication. Results Of 15,105 participants, 14,847 (54.4% women) provided data on physical activity levels and headache. Higher physical activity levels (continuous values) in the leisure time physical activity domain associated with lower migraine and tension-type headache occurrence and lower headache attack frequency, while in the commuting time physical activity domain it associated with more frequent headache attacks. Compared to people who met World Health Organization physical activity levels in the leisure time physical activity or combining leisure time physical activity + commuting time physical activity domains (i.e. ≥150 min.wk−1 of moderate and/or ≥75 min.wk−1 of vigorous physical activity), physical inactivity associated with higher migraine occurrence, while somewhat active (i.e. not meeting World Health Organization recommendations) associated with higher migraine and tension-type headache occurrence. Physical inactivity in the commuting time physical activity domain associated with higher tension-type headache in men and lower migraine in women. Physical inactivity within vigorous leisure time physical activity intensity, but not moderate leisure time physical activity, associated with higher migraine, mostly in women. Finally, physical inactivity associated with higher headache attack frequency regardless headache subtype. Conclusion Physical inactivity and unmet World Health Organization physical activity levels associate with primary headaches, with heterogeneous associations regarding headache subtype, sex, physical activity domain/intensity, and headache frequency in the ELSA-Brasil study.


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