Effects of Home Confinement on the Intensity of Physical Activity during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Team Handball According to Country, Gender, Competition Level, and Playing Position: A Worldwide Study

Souhail Hermassi, El Ghali Bouhafs, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, Shiro Ichimura, Khaled E. Alsharji, Lawrence D. Hayes and René Schwesig
Additional contact information
Souhail Hermassi: Physical Education Department, College of Education, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar
El Ghali Bouhafs: Department of Sports Science, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi: Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), Postgraduate School of Public Health, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Shiro Ichimura: Department of Global Fire Science and Technology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
Khaled E. Alsharji: Department of Physical Education & Sport, College of Basic Education, Al-Ardiya 92400, Kuwait
Lawrence D. Hayes: School of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Glasgow G72 0LH, UK
René Schwesig: Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-21

Abstract: This study investigated effects of home confinement on physical activity (PA) in Team Handball during the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 1359 handball players participated (age: 23 ± 6 years). Participants from Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa answered an online version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) considering “before” and “during” confinement. COVID-19 home confinement has had a negative effect on PA (vigorous, moderate, walking, and overall). The largest decrease was in the sum parameter “all PA” (MET (metabolic equivalent of task)-min/week, ? p 2 = 0.903; min/week, ? p 2 = 0.861). Daily sitting time increased from 2.7 to 5.0 h per weekday ( p < 0.001, ? p 2 = 0.669). For gender, continent, country, level of handball league, and playing position, no significant differences (group and interaction effects) were observed. The largest change in PA behavior was in walking (minutes per day: ? p 2 = 0.755), with males displaying the greatest decrease (from 62 ± 11 to 30 ± 14 min per weekday; d = 2.67). In terms of magnitude, difference between genders was greatest for sitting time (difference in d = 1.20). In conclusion, while COVID-19 measures were essential to preserve public health, PA was compromised and sedentary behavior increased because of these public health measures regardless of gender, playing position, and competition level.

Keywords: COVID-19; home confinement; team handball; physical activity; stress; lockdown (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 (5)

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