Abstract
This study assessed the demographic characteristics of Koreans engaged in leisure sports activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the differences in their preventive health behaviors and constraints on leisure activities. For this study, the demographic characteristics (gender, age, marital status, level of participation in leisure sports, years of participation, companions with whom individuals participating in these sports, type of space used for performing the sports, occupation, and average monthly income) of 544 leisure sport participants (men: 46.0%, women: 54.0%; average age: 36.8 and 33.5 years, respectively), who were recruited on a nationwide basis, were examined through an online survey. Then, comparisons between groups were performed using independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and multivariate analysis of variance. Women who participated in both indoor and outdoor leisure sports showed higher adoption of health prevention behaviors than their male counterparts, and married individuals who participated in indoor leisure sports showed higher adoption of health prevention behaviors than unmarried participants. Moreover, individuals who participated in both indoor and outdoor leisure sports by themselves had many interpersonal constraints overall, and the group of married individuals who participated in indoor leisure sports showed structural constraints. In conclusion, leisure sports participants have adopted many health prevention behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this had led to some interpersonal constraints. These results indicate that, in the case of future pandemics, personal and institutional efforts will need to be made to promote participation in leisure sports and prevent excessive social isolation.
Highlights
The measures implemented to control the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in people around the world becoming accustomed to new realities such as social distancing (Grenita et al, 2020)
Social distancing-induced reductions in physical activity have been observed in many countries around the world (Ammar et al, 2020; Güzel et al, 2020), and studies have reported that the prolonged nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated mitigation efforts could lead to secondary negative effects concerning the health and welfare of both patients as well as the general population (Gasmi et al, 2020; Lippi et al, 2020)
We found that women who participated in both indoor and outdoor leisure sports showed a higher level of adoption of preventive health behaviors as compared to men
Summary
The measures implemented to control the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in people around the world becoming accustomed to new realities such as social distancing (Grenita et al, 2020). Social distancing-induced reductions in physical activity have been observed in many countries around the world (Ammar et al, 2020; Güzel et al, 2020), and studies have reported that the prolonged nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated mitigation efforts could lead to secondary negative effects concerning the health and welfare of both patients as well as the general population (Gasmi et al, 2020; Lippi et al, 2020). To reduce their risk of infection, people have adopted preventive health behaviors. Considering this finding, and the fact that low physical activity can increase global mortality (Kohl et al, 2012), it seems clear that public health officials should emphasize the importance of engaging in physical activity in order to maintain good health during the pandemic
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