Impact of seasonality on physical activity: a systematic review

Abstract

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze the available scientific evidence of the impact of seasonality on physical activity (PA). PA refers to walking, biking, sports and/or active recreation. Methods The systematic search was performed in the following databases: PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane and Embase. All publications from January 2015 to September 2020 assessing seasonal variations on physical activity development in adults were selected. Results A total of 1159 articles were identified, of which 26 fulfilled the selection criteria involving 9300 participants from 18 different countries. The results obtained suggest that seasonality affects PA independently of the countries, pathologies of the participants and the tool to collect PA information. Conclusions PA level varies across the seasons, with higher PA level in summer compared with other seasons, especially in winter. Sedentary behavior follows the opposite trend. Impact of seasonality variations should be considered in clinical research involving PA as a primary outcome as well as in interventions on PA promotion. Key messages • Impact of seasonality variations should be considered in clinical research involving PA as a primary outcome as well as in interventions on PA promotion. • Seasonality affects PA independently of the countries, pathologies of the participants and the tool used to collect PA with higher PA level in summer compared with other seasons, especially in winter.