Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic stay at home order and social isolation on physical activity levels and sedentary behavior in Brazilian adults

Botero, João Paulo; Farah, Breno Quintella; Correia, Marilia de Almeida; Lofrano-Prado, Mara Cristina; Cucato, Gabriel Grizzo; Shumate, Grace; Ritti-Dias, Raphael Mendes; do Prado, Wagner Luiz

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic on physical activity levels and sedentary behavior among Brazilians residents aged ≥18 years. METHODS: An online survey was distributed through a social media platform between May 5 and 17, 2020. Participants completed a structured questionnaire in Google Forms, which assessed the physical activity level and sedentary behavior of adults in Brazil during the pandemic. RESULTS: Age (OR: 0.98; 95%CI: 0.97-0.99), chronic disease (OR: 1.29; 95%CI: 1.03-1.63), physical inactivity before the coronavirus 2019 pandemic (OR: 2.20; 95%CI: 1.78-2.72) and overweight (OR: 1.34; 95%CI: 1.09-1.65) showed higher risk of impact on physical activity levels. Increased sitting time was associated with older individuals (OR: 0.97; 95%CI: 0.96-0.98), inactivity (OR: 1.51; 95%CI: 1.16-1.96), chronic disease (OR: 1.65; 95%CI: 1.23-2.22), higher number of days in social isolation (OR: 1.01; 95%CI: 1.00-1.02) and higher schooling levels (OR: 1.87; 95%CI: 1.26-2.78). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that advanced age, chronic disease and physical inactivity before social isolation had a greater risk of impact on reduced physical activity levels and increased sitting time during the coronavirus 2019 disease pandemic.