Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors among Young Adults of G Dh. Thinadhoo, Maldives

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and preventive measures such as lockdown and curfew hours forced young adults to restrict their movement leading to physical inactivity. Moreover, during the lockdown period, staying home and avoiding social contact has resulted in a massive increase in their sedentary behaviors. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and differences in SB and PA among young adults of G Dh. Thinadhoo before and during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures. Furthermore, it aimed to determine the reasons for physical inactivity among young adults during the period of lockdown on the island. For this quantitative study, a convenience sampling was used due to the limited timeframe of the study. A total of 300 young adults aged 18 to 25 filled the questionnaire online. Two validated questionnaires were used in this study, which are International Physical Activity Questionnaire, short-form IPAQ-SF, and Past-day Adults’ Sedentary Time (PAST) Questionnaire. To determine whether SB and PA had any differences in before and during the lockdown period, a paired sample t-test was conducted. The result showed that the pandemic had caused severe increases in SB and a decrease in PA of young adults. The total sitting time averaged 8 hours per day prior to the lockdown and 16 hours per day during the lockdown. The PA compared to before and during the lockdown, a decrease was 40.3% for vigorous PA, 19.3% for moderate PA, and 57% for work for 10 minutes. These findings highlight the importance to doing future studies on larger amount of samples including all the age groups of the population and developing public health strategies and awareness in terms of PA and SB especially while during home confinement.