Research
Adherence
Previously active individuals experience a disproportionately larger decrease in physical activity during lockdowns compared to those who were already less active.
If you were highly active before lockdowns, you are at high risk of losing your fitness. You must actively replace your structured routine with home-based or outdoor alternatives to prevent a large drop in activity.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
participants with higher pre-restriction PA had larger decreases than previously less active individuals
Why this rating
Self-reported data, but the trend is consistent across age groups and countries.
Source
A Pandemic within the Pandemic? Physical Activity Levels Substantially Decreased in Countries Affected by COVID-19
Jan Wilke et al. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2021
DOI 10.3390/ijerph18052235
cross_sectional · n=13503Cited 280×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Government-imposed public life restrictions and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic caused a substantial, global decrease in physical activity levels, specifically moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA).Moderate
- Pandemic-related lockdowns led to a significant decrease in compliance with WHO physical activity guidelines, dropping from 80.9% to 62.5% of the population.Moderate
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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