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

Rubén López-Bueno, Joaquín Calatayud, Lars L. Andersen, Carlos Balsalobre-Fernández, José Casaña, José A. Casajús, Lee Smith and Guillermo F. López-Sánchez
Additional contact information
Rubén López-Bueno: Department of Physical Medicine and Nursing, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Joaquín Calatayud: National Research Centre for the Working Environment, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Lars L. Andersen: National Research Centre for the Working Environment, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Carlos Balsalobre-Fernández: Applied Biomechanics and Sports Technology Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Sports, and Human Motricity, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
José Casaña: Exercise Intervention for Health Research Group (EXINH-RG), Department of Physiotherapy, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
José A. Casajús: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Lee Smith: Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
Guillermo F. López-Sánchez: Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Murcia, 30720 Murcia, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-10

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: physical exercise; lockdown; health-risk behaviors; isolation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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