Abstract
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic among Bangladeshi people. An online survey was conducted among 2,028 people over a period of 10 days on June, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic at a time that the number of newly diagnosed cases was increasing, lockdown was still in place. Survey questions included socio-demographics and an adapted version of the IPAQ-SF to assess physical activity and sedentary behaviors. The prevalence rates of physical inactivity (<600 MET–minutes/week) and high sedentary behaviors (≥8 h/day) among Bangladeshi people were 37.9% and 20.9%, respectively. Regression analyses revealed that young age, being a student, from a middle-class family, or upper-class family, living with nuclear family, urban living, and suffering from no chronic diseases were all associated with physical inactivity and high sedentary behaviors. Moreover, physical inactivity and high sedentary behavior were strongly interrelated. However, many of the univariate risk factors exhibited interdependency. During the COVID-19 pandemic coinciding with lockdown measures a sizeable proportion of Bangladeshi people were physically inactive and reported sedentary behaviors ≥8 h/day. Public campaigns and media-based interventions encouraging home-based physical activities should be promoted to attenuate the impact of lockdown measures during a pandemic.
Highlights
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global public health threat [1, 2]
The findings showed a significant association between physical inactivity and high sedentary behaviors (χ2 1⁄4 82.0; df 1⁄4 1, p < 0.001), as well as physical inactivity (ORSB 1⁄4 2.7; 95% CI 1⁄4 2.2–3.3, p < 0.001) and sedentary behaviors (ORPI 1⁄4 2.7; 95% CI 1⁄4 12.2–3.3, p < 0.001) emerged as significant predictors of each other (Table 2)
In a prior study focused on mental health conducted earlier during the outbreak in Bangladesh, we reported that 55.3% participants did not engage in physical exercise while in home quarantine, and 33.9% browsed internet more than 6 h per day [39]
Summary
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global public health threat [1, 2]. The virus has spread worldwide, with millions of COVID-19 cases and related deaths being recorded globally [4]. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Bangladesh on March 8, 2020 [5, 6, 7], and more than 317,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,351 deaths have been recorded by September 03, 2020 [8]. Physical activity (PA) is regarded as a critical component of a healthy lifestyle and disease prevention [9]. Regular physical activity helps maintain a healthy weight, reduces the risk of developing obesity, and strengthens the immune system [11, 12]
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