Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the changes in Chinese adults’ physical activity (PA) behavior and determinants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A total of 1028 adults (aged 19–59 years) were recruited from 127 urban and rural neighborhoods in China using stratified three-stage probability sampling. Data collection was conducted in December 2019 and July 2020. Results: Compared with the data before the pandemic, individuals’ weekly moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) decreased significantly from 139 min to 120 min, seven months after the outbreak (p = 0.01), with female and rural populations displaying a more significant decrease (p = 0.02). Overall, 13.7% of participants met the PA guidelines (World Health Organization) both before and during the pandemic, while 21.8% met the guidelines only before the pandemic and 18.1% increased their PA and met the PA guidelines during the pandemic. A total of 46.4% did not meet the PA guidelines before or during the pandemic. Determinants of PA behavior change before and during the pandemic included sports skills, self-determined motivation and support from sports organizations. Conclusions: The Chinese adults’ PA levels decreased significantly from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among the female population. It is suggested that the enhancement of self-determined motivation, improvement of sport skills, and support from sports organizations might be effective in facilitating individuals’ engagement in PA during the pandemic.
Highlights
The relationships between individuals’ physical activity (PA) and health outcomes have consistently been an important focus in the field of public health promotion
53% of the participants were between the ages of 30 and 49 years
We found that self-determined intrinsic motivation and the number of sport skills acquired during the pandemic were significantly related to the maintenance of PA behaviors and achieving the PA guidelines
Summary
The relationships between individuals’ physical activity (PA) and health outcomes have consistently been an important focus in the field of public health promotion. It is well-documented that insufficient PA is a key risk factor for the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes, among other chronic diseases [1]. In England, a follow-up survey was conducted on individuals’ PA levels from four to eight weeks after the outbreak of the pandemic. 41% showed a decrease in PA after just four weeks of the outbreak [7] Another online survey conducted one month after the outbreak demonstrated that individuals’ average daily PA time decreased by 33.5% [8]. Individuals’ PA levels from various countries have been affected to some degree by the severity of the pandemic [9]
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