Research
Adherence
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.
Check if you are still meeting the 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. Lockdowns make this harder, so you need to be intentional about scheduling movement.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Compared to pre-pandemic, compliance with WHO guidelines decreased from 80.9% (95% CI: 80.3–81.7) to 62.5% (95% CI: 61.6–63.3).
Why this rating
Large sample size, but self-reported data.
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
- Previously active individuals experience a disproportionately larger decrease in physical activity during lockdowns compared to those who were already less active.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
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →