COVID-19 and home confinement: Data on physical activity

Abstract

In March 14th 2020, the Spanish Government declared the“State of Emergency”due to the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 and all the population was forced to “shelter-at-home” for two weeks. Citizens had less than 24 hours to prepare for the self-quarantine. The goal of the present was to assess Spanish citizens' physical activity practice at the end of the first week of the home quarantine. A total of 1858 Spanish citizens, 674 males and 1184 females (M = 40.18, SD = 15.84 years) agreed to participate. The study is descriptive in nature, based on an on-line questionnaire conducted seven days after the mandatory shelter-at-home health order issued by the Spanish Government. It included The International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Anthropometric parameters, Sociometric and COVID-19 information. Global results showed that the vast majority of the confined population was below the World Health Organization recommendations on Vigorous Physical Activity, Moderate Physical Activity or a combination. Physical activity practice was dependent on personal factors such as gender, age or weight, but also on contextual factors such as living with a dependent person or the type of house (square meters, having a balcony or a backyard). Insufficient physical activity has been considered a prominent risk factor for non-communicable diseases, mental health and, consequently, quality of life. Mandatory shelter-at home orders like the ones issued due to COVID-19 could be repeated in the future. National authorities should consider the findings from the present study to prevent citizens from putting their health at jeopardy while in confinement.