Beneficios de la práctica de actividad física durante la pandemia generada por el Covid-19

Abstract

Introduction: Covid-19 and the measures to mitigate it generated changes in the dynamics and life habits of people: one of the most affected habits was the practice of physical activity and exercise, so the initial purpose was to determine if people performed physical activity at home and in what way this was carried out. Objective: To identify the type of physical exercise carried out by different populations of the city of Medellín and the benefits perceived when doing it, during the mandatory confinement due to covid-19. Methodology: We identified the physical activity practices of 606 people, including young adults, adults, older adults and people with disabilities, through a quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional research, in the city of Medellín. Participants answered a survey and the IPAQ questionnaire virtually. Results: 50.7 % of the people performed physical activity at home during confinement, with adults being the population with the most activity (58 %) and the elderly who performed less PA (26.9 %); Those who carried it out state that it was effective, reaching its objectives (71.6 %). Conclusions: Functional exercises were those that predominated at home, people used the implements they had, carried out the activities on their own, under their own initiative and maintained the practice of PA to obtain its physical benefits. Despite the psychological benefits of PA, older adults and the population with disabilities do not take them into account when motivating themselves to do PA.