Abstract
The purpose of the current study is to investigate the changes in physical activity (PA), sleep time (ST), and body weight (BW) Pre- and during COVID-19 in South Korea, and specifically, PA data were obtained during COVID-19 at three-time points based on the multilevel social distancing policies. All data were surveyed by questionnaires online and offline, and participants were required to fill in the monthly average of daily step counts were recorded an application on participants’ smartphone devices from Pre-COVID-19 (2019 year) and during COVID-19 (2020 year). Participants were 834 adults (males: 54.4%, female: 45.6%) and all statistical analyses were summarized by SPSS 25.0 program. The monthly average of daily step counts was 6747.09 during Pre-COVID-19, but the PA during COVID-19 was 5812.11 daily step counts per month. Also, there were significant pairwise differences between average PA Pre-COVID-19 and each level of social distancing (p < 0.001). After COVID-19, the participants who slept less than 7 h decreased by 3.6%, while those who slept more than 9 h increased by that much. As a result of BW, 269 participants responded their BW changed during COVID-19, and 199 of them reported they gained BW during COVID-19 (74.0%). Although self-reported questionnaires may have led to an under-or over-estimation of ST and BW, the present study found that the environment in which the COVID-19 is prevalent had adverse relationships on PA, ST, and BW. Therefore, it is important to identify strategies to motivate individuals for remaining physically active and getting adequate sleep while maintaining social distancing due to the presence of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Highlights
Regular participation in physical activity (PA) provides physiological benefits by lowering the risk of mortality from cardiovascular and metabolic diseases [1,2,3,4], and immunological benefits mediated by attenuation of inflammation, increased circulation of immunoglobulin, and anti-inflammatory cytokines due to enhanced macrophage reactions [5,6]
Participants were mostly single (n = 774, 92.8%), and all participants had never been infected with COVID-19 (n = 834, 100%)
The present study investigated the changes in PA, sleep time (ST), and body weight (BW) Pre- and during the COVID-19 and compared the changes across gender, three different locations, and levels of social distancing (i.e., Level 1, Level 2, and Level 2.5) implemented by adaptive governance in South Korea
Summary
Regular participation in physical activity (PA) provides physiological benefits by lowering the risk of mortality from cardiovascular and metabolic diseases [1,2,3,4], and immunological benefits mediated by attenuation of inflammation, increased circulation of immunoglobulin, and anti-inflammatory cytokines due to enhanced macrophage reactions [5,6]. The World Health Organization has proposed PA guidelines and encouraged people to engage in a minimum of 150 min per week of moderate-intensity aerobic PA. 75 min per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic PA, or equivalent combination [7]. The recent findings suggest that promoting PA and limiting prolonged bouts of sedentary time is beneficially associated with BW [10], and it is well-documented that regular and appropriate PA has associated.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
