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

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjectivesThe 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.MethodsA 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.ResultsParticipants 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.ConclusionThe 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.What are the new findings?This is the first study to investigate lifestyle behaviors in young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes in these behaviors after its outbreak.Low physical activity (PA) level, high sedentary behavior (SB) and long sleep duration were found in young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.All types of PA and both time spent in SB and sleep significantly decreased and increased after COVID-19 outbreak, respectively.How might it impact on clinical practice in the future?The current study provided evidences that young adults engaged in sedentary lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may assist in the development and provision of appropriate and tailored health education and behavior interventions during and after this or other future global pandemics.