Obesity, Physical Activity and Sedentary Time during Covid-19 Confinement: Moroccan Adult Study

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this study is to study the correlation between obesity, physical activity and sedentary behavior in a sample of the population in Kénitra, Morocco. Materials and methods: The obesity assessment was based on Body Mass Index (BMI), which pertains to sedentary time and physical activity. A questionnaire was completed by participants with respect to covid-19 precautions. The level of physical activity was evaluated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short version. Results: Our study included 100 subjects (50 women and 50 men), the average age was 33.83±14.72 years. Our sample showed that 32 percent of individuals who are pre-obese and 9 percent who are obese. The IPAQ score showed that 41% of individuals had high physical activity and 37% low physical activity and 22% moderate physical activity with an insignificant relationship between physical activity and BMI (p=0.664). Our study showed that 50% of individuals had sedentary activity times below 20 hours/week, and 28% had sedentary activity times between 20 and 30 hours/week, and 18% had sedentary activity times between 30 and 40 hours/week, and 4% had a significant relationship between sedentary time and BMI (p=0.017). Conclusion: Our results have shown that there are inconveniences of containment on the health of individuals, requiring the intervention of specialists to find suitable solutions.