Abstract
Rapid worldwide decreases in physical activity (PA), an increase in sedentary behaviour (SB) and poorer dietary patterns have been reported during COVID-19 confinement periods. However, as national variability has been observed, this study sought to describe PA, SB and eating patterns, and to explore their gender as well as other socio-demographic correlates and how they interrelate in a representative sample of Portuguese adults during the COVID-19 first mandatory social confinement. The survey was applied online and by telephone to 5856 adults (mean age = 45.8 years; 42.6% women). The majority reported high (46.0%) or moderate (20.5%) PA levels. Men, younger participants, those with higher education levels and a favourable perception of their financial situation reported higher PA levels, with the opposite pattern for SB. Physical fitness activities and household chores were more reported by women, with more strength training and running activities reported by men. Regarding eating behaviours, 45.1% reported changes, positive (58%) and negative (42%), with 18.2% reporting increases in consumption of fruit, vegetables, and fish and other seafood consumption, while 10.8% (most with lower educational level and less comfortable with their income) reported an increase in consumption of ready-to-eat meals, soft drinks, savoury snacks, and take-away and delivered meals. Two clusters—a health-enhancing vs. risky pattern—emerged through multiple correspondence analysis characterized by co-occurrence of high vs. low PA levels, positive vs. negative eating changes, awareness or not of the COVID-19 PA and dietary recommendations, perceived financial situation, higher vs. lower educational level and time in social confinement. In conclusion, while in social confinement, both positive and negative PA and eating behaviours and trends were displayed, highlighting the role of key sociodemographic correlates contributing to healthy vs. risky patterns. Results may inform future health interventions and policies to be more targeted to those at risk, and also advocate the promotion of PA and healthy eating in an integrated fashion.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed an overwhelming burden on health systems and authorities to respond with effective and appropriate policies, health communication, and interventions [1,2]
Concerning eating behaviours, this study showed that a high proportion of the population surveyed changed their eating habits during the confinement period of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (45.1%), 58% of those reported an improvement in their diet, while 42% reported a worsening tendency, namely an increased consumption of sweet snacks
Our results show that this protective behavioural pattern clusters with a good perceived financial situation, higher educational level and awareness and knowledge of the COVID-19 physical activity (PA) and dietary recommendations for social confinement, launched by the Portuguese DirectorateGeneral of Health’ Eating and PA National Promotion Programs
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed an overwhelming burden on health systems and authorities to respond with effective and appropriate policies, health communication, and interventions [1,2]. Restaurants, gyms, parks, community centres, and other public social and recreational facilities and venues were closed or their access restricted in many countries, depending on the epidemiologic evolution of the disease, whereas several professionals and students transitioned to online work and learning, respectively, during the state of emergency declared in several countries These nonpharmacological interventions, necessary to curtail the spread of the disease, potentially disrupted many regular aspects of life, including physical activity (PA) and eating habits [5,6,7,8,9], with potentially critical implications for the global burden of disease [10,11,12,13,14]. Adequate eating and PA are considered interconnected strategic public health priorities during this pandemic [1,2,14,21,22]
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