Article
Exploring the Role of Physical Activity During COVID-19 in the UK
The Health & Fitness Journal of Canada
(2021)
Abstract
Background: Participation in physical activity (PA) is important to health and well-being. Prior to the pandemic, about 34% of men and 42% of women in the UK were not active enough for good health (GOV.UK, 2019). Prolonged quarantines can lead to sedentary lifestyles, which are associated with chronic health conditions (Chen et al., 2020; Mattioli et al., 2020). While many health professionals are purporting the need to stay healthy and physically active during COVID-19, there is little information about the general public’s PA during the pandemic. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the experience of PA during COVID-19. Methods: A qualitative study using the Physical Activity During COVID-19 Questionnaire (PADCQ) was conducted January-March 2021 online via SurveyMonkey®. The instrument consisted of 8 demographic items and 9 survey questions, two of which are the focus of this abstract: 1) Compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, are you currently more physically active, less or about the same? and 2) What role is physical activity playing in your life today? Data from 172 respondents were exported from Excel into Atlas.ti for analysis including preparing data, open-coding, sorting codes, and organizing themes. Results: Most respondents (57.6%) described themselves as less active, 24.4% as more active and 18.0% as about the same. 52.3% felt PA had a positive role, 29.7% had a negative outlook on PA, 3.49% had both a positive and negative outlook and 14.5% acknowledged PA without being positive or negative. Many reasons attributed to the positive PA-related responses including that it is important/vital, improves mental health/acuity and aids in general fitness. The negative outlook was primarily due to PA being a minor/minimal priority and/or having a decreased life role, particularly due to COVID-19 restrictions. Conclusions: If predictions are correct, due to climate change and other factors, the occurrence of infectious outbreaks may increase and to maintain health and well-being, public health will need to tailor PA recommendations, programming, and measurement. This information provides a baseline understanding of PA during COVID-19 and could be used to create PA promotion strategies and programs for situations where lifestyle is restricted or limited to home and/or local environments.
Keywords
- Physical Activity,
- Health,
- Wellness,
- COVID-19
Disciplines
Publication Date
September 30, 2021
DOI
10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.658
Citation Information
Paul F Franco, Michelle L D'Abundo and Deborah A. DeLuca. "Exploring the Role of Physical Activity During COVID-19 in the UK" The Health & Fitness Journal of Canada Vol. 14 Iss. 3 (2021) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michelle-dabundo/17/
Creative Commons license
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY International License.