Changes in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Response to COVID 19 and Their Associations with Mental Health in 3052 US Adults
The COVID 19 pandemic altered many facets of life. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID 19 related public health guidelines on physical activity (PA) sedentary behavior, mental health, and their interrelations. Cross sectional data were collected from 3052 US adults 3 8 April 2020 (from all 50 states) Participants self reported pre and post COVID 19 levels of moderate and vigorous PA, sitting, and screen time. Currently followed public health guidelines, stress, loneliness, positive mental health (PMH) social connectedness, and depressive and anxiety symptoms were self reported. Participants were grouped by meeting US PA guidelines, reporting =8 h/day of sitting, or =8 h/day of screen time, pre and post COVID 19. Overall, 62% of participants were female, with age ranging from 18 24 (16.6% of sample) to 75+ (9.3% Self reported PA was lower post COVID among participants reporting being previously active (mean change: 32.3% [95% CI: 36.3% 28.1% but largely unchanged among previously inactive participants +2.3% 3.5% +8.1% No longer meeting PA guidelines and increased screen time were associated with worse depression, loneliness, stress, and PMH (p 0.001) Self isolation/quarantine was associated with higher depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to social distancing (p 0.001) Maintaining and enhancing physical activity participation and limiting screen time increases during abrupt societal changes may mitigate the mental health consequences.
International journal of environmental research and public health