Fitness and the Crisis: Impacts of COVID-19 on Active Living and Life Satisfaction in Austria

Analysing features of home-based workout during COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease in physical activity (PA) related to home confinement has been reported worldwide. However, some individuals were able to engage in physical activities at home. Thus, in a perspective of public health, it may be useful to analyse the available evidence regarding PA adopted during home restrictions, in order to identify possible strategies to help people stay active even during emergency situations. The aim of this review was to analyse how healthy individuals spontaneously exercised at home in the course of the pandemic, in order to detect possible factors associated with this behaviour.

STUDY DESIGN

A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

METHODS

The protocol was registered in PROSPERO, an international prospective register of systematic reviews, with the registration number CRD42023394673. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Cross-sectional studies published in English from the inception of each database to February 06th 2023 and focused on healthy individuals practicing spontaneous PA/exercise at home during the pandemic were considered eligible. The quality assessment was performed using the adapted Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Bibliographic information, sample size, study paricipant/population with age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education, smart workers or not, anthropometric parameters, characteristics of at home exercises, athletic status and sedentariness, associated health-related effects, and main findings were synthetised.

RESULTS

From 504 articles, 19 were included. Notwithstanding the differences in the studies examined, the majority of them reported that previous PA level was associated with exercise in such challenging conditions. Furthermore, technologies aimed at supporting exercise were shown to be a useful resource.

CONCLUSIONS

Being habitually active and using digital supports may be associated with a positive attitude towards exercise at home during isolation. This suggests that in emergency situations, exercise should be promoted, also through digital media, especially among those groups who are usually less engaged in PA. Further analyses of longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Health Promotion for Students of Veterinary Medicine: A Preliminary Study on Active Microbreaks and Ergonomics Education

Occupational hazards, such as psychosocial stressors, physical injuries from human-animal interactions, and physically demanding work tasks, are common in the veterinary profession, and musculoskeletal discomfort and pain (MDP) may already be present in veterinary undergraduates. This preliminary study investigates the effects of very short, active interventions, called microbreaks, in 36 veterinary students. At the start, participants had a high prevalence of MDP, especially in the neck and lower back. Within a 12-week observational period, 6 weeks of active intervention comprised teaching microbreaks (nine strengthening, stretching, and relaxation exercises; 30-90 s each) and a weekly veterinary-specific ergonomics education and discussion. After the intervention, participants reported fewer painful body regions and an increase in their self-efficacy in potentially painful, risky, or dangerous human-animal interactions. After the 12-week observational period, participants had increased self-efficacy in the maintenance of physical health and self-protection but decreased self-efficacy in healing injuries after veterinary human-animal interactions. Participants felt to have increased and decreased control over dangerous situations with dogs and horses, respectively, although self-efficacy in handling horses increased. Participants integrated microbreaks well into their undergraduate activities and rated the topic relevant to their (later) profession. This should encourage the inclusion of similar programs in undergraduate curricula.

Impact of the COVID-19 kindergarten closure on overweight and obesity among 3- to 7-year-old children

BACKGROUND

Knowledge on the impact of the temporary kindergarten closure policy under COVID-19 in 2020 on childhood overweight and obesity is inadequate. We aimed to examine differences in rates of overweight and obesity from 2018 to 2021 among kindergarten children aged 3-7 years.

METHODS

Overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) > 1 standard deviation (SD) for age and sex, and obesity was defined as BMI > 2 SD for age and sex. Generalized linear mixed modeling was used for analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 44,884 children and 71,216 growth data points from all 57 public kindergartens in Jiading District, Shanghai, China were analyzed. The rates of obesity from 2018 to 2021 were 6.9%, 6.6%, 9.5%, and 7.3% in boys and 2.8%, 2.8%, 4.5%, and 3.1% in girls, respectively. The rates of overweight from 2018 to 2021 were 14.3%, 14.3%, 18.2%, and 15.3% in boys and 10.6%, 10.9%, 13.9%, and 11.6% in girls. The rates of obesity and overweight among kindergarten children in 2020 were significantly higher than those in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Compared to 2020, the odds ratios of the obesity rate in 2018, 2019, and 2021 were 0.67 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.58-0.77, P < 0.001], 0.72 (95% CI = 0.64-0.80, P < 0.001) and 0.81 (95% CI = 0.72-0.92, P = 0.001), respectively. The odds ratios of the overweight rate in 2018, 2019, and 2021 were 0.75 (95% CI = 0.69-0.82, P < 0.001), 0.78 (95% CI = 0.72-0.84, P < 0.001), and 0.89 (95% CI = 0.81-0.97, P = 0.008), respectively, compared to 2020.

CONCLUSIONS

The rates of overweight and obesity significantly increased among kindergarten children in 2020 after the 5-month kindergarten closure. It was critical to provide guidance to caregivers on fostering a healthy lifestyle for children at home under public health emergencies.

Sports and the Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Active Living and Life Satisfaction of Climbers

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in every aspect of our lives. Because of the measures imposed, people were only allowed to leave their homes for certain purposes, and all types of cultural and sports events were canceled. Climbers were greatly affected by these limited options for regular physical activity outside of the home environment. Little is known about the crisis' effects on the climbing community in German-speaking regions. Thus, we surveyed 1028 German-speaking climbers (mean age 34.6 years, SD 10.4; 50.4% females) from December 2020 to February 2021. A cross-sectional online survey collected data on climbing frequency and preferences as well as levels of life satisfaction, using the standardized Short Life Satisfaction Questionnaire for Lockdowns (SLSQL) before and during the crisis. Results showed that due to the pandemic, study subjects climbed less frequently, preferred outdoor locations to climb, and showed decreased life satisfaction scores (21%, (d = 0.87, p < 0.001). In conclusion, these findings highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on climbing sports activities and life satisfaction in this study sample. To preserve physical and mental health, indoor and outdoor sport activities should be continued as much as possible with reasonable hygiene concepts in place.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Impacted Daily Life? Assessing the Use of Web Resources for Recreational Activities in the Italian Adult Population

Restriction measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in people's lives and behaviors. The aim of this paper is to assess the changes occurred in physical activity (PA), sleep, social and cultural activities and personal relationships of Italian adults during the pandemic and to evaluate the use of web-based resources to continue these activities. To this purpose, a cross-sectional study using a web-based questionnaire was carried out and both descriptive and regression analysis was performed. On a total of 1831 participants (61% females, age 18-93 years), the majority reported a decrease in PA, sleep, social and cultural activities and personal relationships, since the beginning of the pandemic. Sleep was notably affected by the use of new technologies. The regression analysis demonstrated that the use of web-based media for doing exercise was associated with being younger than 50 years and female; having a chronic condition was inversely related with the use of web resources for social and cultural activities and to maintain relationships; being employed was negatively related with the use of web media for continuing personal relationships and cultural activities; and being vaccinated against COVID-19 was positively associated with the use of the web for personal relationships. These findings confirm that the COVID-19 pandemic notably affected the daily life of Italian adults. Our results suggest that the use of technology to deal with these changes seems to be related with certain sociodemographic and health-related characteristics. These findings can be useful to identify those characteristics that can help people in copying with daily life modifications due to restriction measures.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Physical Activity and Life Satisfaction of Golfers: A Cross-Sectional Study in German-Speaking Countries

Golf is an outdoor sport played worldwide, and golfers of all ages benefit from regular exercise and social contact. The COVID-19 crisis has led to lockdowns, curfews, and closures of golf courses and other indoor and outdoor sports facilities. This study aimed to retrospectively assess how golfers perceived the impact of the crisis on physical activity and life satisfaction. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey among 1,115 golfers (61% men, mean age 55.0 years) in German-speaking countries, mainly Austria and Germany, from March to June 2021. When comparing ratings before and during the COVID-19 period, participants reported exercising more indoors at home independently or with online instructions. Likewise, the popularity of exercising outdoors in publicly accessible open spaces increased overall, especially in rural areas by about 10%. Life satisfaction decreased significantly by 24.2% (p < 0.001) during the pandemic. From a public health perspective, access to outdoor sports facilities such as golf courses might alleviate the negative psychosocial and health effects of home confinement and restricted access to indoor sports facilities. Further research is recommended to evaluate the longer-term impact of COVID-19-related measures on the physical activity and life satisfaction of golfers.