Changes in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Due to Enforced COVID-19-Related Lockdown and Movement Restrictions: A Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Chris Kite,Ioannis Kyrou,Lukasz Lagojda,Amy E Harwood,David R Broom,Francesca Denton,Harpal S Randeva,Lou Atkinson,Gordon Mcgregor,Cain C T Clark,Olalekan Uthman

doi:10.3390/ijerph18105251

Abstract

Prolonged lockdown/restriction measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have reportedly impacted opportunities to be physically active for a large proportion of the population in affected countries globally. The exact changes to physical activity and sedentary behaviours due to these measures have not been fully studied. Accordingly, the objective of this PROSPERO-registered systematic review is to evaluate the available evidence on physical activity and sedentary behaviours in the general population during COVID-19-related lockdown/restriction measures, compared to prior to restrictions being in place. Defined searches to identify eligible studies published in English, from November 2019 up to the date of submission, will be conducted using the following databases: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, PSYCinfo, Coronavirus Research Database, Public Health Database, Publicly Available Content Database, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar. The applied inclusion criteria were selected to identify observational studies with no restrictions placed on participants, with outcomes regarding physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour during lockdown/restriction measures, and with comparisons for these outcomes to a time when no such measures were in place. Where appropriate, results from included studies will be pooled and effect estimates will be presented in random effects meta-analyses. To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first systematic review to evaluate one complete year of published data on the impact of COVID-19-related lockdown/restriction measures on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis will constitute the most up-to-date synthesis of published evidence on any such documented changes, and so will comprehensively inform clinical practitioners, public health agencies, researchers, policymakers and the general public regarding the effects of lockdown/restriction measures on both physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

Highlights

Since it was first described in December 2019 [1], coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19), caused by the highly transmissible and virulent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has evolved into a pandemic which is still ongoing at the time of writing [2,3]
The objective of this systematic review is to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on the amount of physical activity and sedentary behaviour performed by the general population
The findings of our systematic review will provide up-todate evidence to comprehensively inform the general public, clinical practitioners, public health agencies, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders regarding the impact of lockdown/restriction measures upon physical activity and sedentary behaviour within the general population

Summary

Introduction

Since it was first described in December 2019 [1], coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19), caused by the highly transmissible and virulent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has evolved into a pandemic which is still ongoing at the time of writing [2,3]. Whilst the majority of patients with COVID-19 are either asymptomatic or exhibit mild symptomatology, COVID-19 can manifest with severe symptoms, which often require hospitalisation, and potentially intensive care unit support [4,5,6] It is the severity of these cases and the documented fatality of COVID-19 that prompted countries/authorities around the world to implement nationwide lockdown, quarantine, and self-isolation measures [7,8] in order to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates and protect vulnerable individuals [9,10]. The enforced lockdown/restriction measures, including only being able to exercise outdoors for a limited period per day, have potentially reduced an individual’s opportunities to be physically active, whilst simultaneously providing a situation in which engaging in sedentary behaviours is more commonplace The latter are well-known to have significant negative effects on health and quality of life [18,19]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion