Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living · 7 authors, 2 centres
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A national survey of U.S. adults during April-June 2020 found that total weekly physical activity minutes increased by 10.6% during the early COVID-19 pandemic, with increases in home-based, neighborhood, and park/trail activity but decreases in recreational sports and fitness facility use.
This cross-sectional e-survey (n=805) was conducted April-June 2020 to understand changes in physical activity (PA) across domains and settings during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The final sample was predominantly white (84.7%) and female (78.0%). Self-reported data showed domain-specific increases in household and recreational PA, but decreases in active transportation and occupational PA. Weekly minutes of PA changed significantly across all behavior settings, with reported increases in home-based, neighborhood, parks/trails, and total PA, and decreases in PA through recreational sports and fitness facilities. Total weekly PA minutes increased by 10.6%. Stratified analyses indicated that caregiving responsibilities were associated with increases in household PA and PA frequency, while working from home was associated with a larger increase in neighborhood PA. The findings suggest an overall increase in total PA and adaptation to new settings, highlighting the need for interventions to capitalize on these changes.
