Physical Activity during the First Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Investigating the Reliance on Digital Technologies, Perceived Benefits, Barriers and the Impact of Affect

Michelle Symons, Carmem Meira Cunha, Karolien Poels, Heidi Vandebosch, Nathalie Dens and Clara Alida Cutello
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Michelle Symons: Department of Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Carmem Meira Cunha: Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Economics, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Karolien Poels: Department of Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Heidi Vandebosch: Department of Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Nathalie Dens: Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Economics, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Clara Alida Cutello: Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Economics, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-23

Abstract: The measures to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have been concentrated on inviting people to stay at home. This has reduced opportunities to exercise while also shedding some light on the importance of physical health. Based on an online survey, this paper investigated physical activity behaviours of a Belgians sample ( n = 427) during the lockdown period between the end of May 2020 and the beginning of June 2020 and found that, during this period, the gap between sufficiently and insufficiently active individuals widened even more. This paper analysed important moderators of physical activity behaviours, such as barriers and benefits to exercise, digital support used to exercise, and individuals’ emotional well-being. Descriptive analysis and analyses of variance indicated that, generally, individuals significantly increased their engagement in exercise, especially light- and moderate-intensity activities, mostly accepted the listed benefits but refused the listed barriers, increased their engagement in digital support and did not score high on any affective measures. A comparison between sufficiently active and insufficiently active individuals during the lockdown showed that the former engaged even more in physical activity, whereas the latter exercised equally (i.e., not enough) or even less compared to before the lockdown. By means of a logistic regression, five key factors of belonging to the sufficiently active group were revealed and discussed. Practical implications for government and policies are reviewed.

Keywords: physical activity; COVID-19 lockdown; digital support for exercise; benefits; barriers; affect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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