Correlates of and changes in aerobic physical activity and strength training before and after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: findings from the HEBECO study

  1. Aleksandra Herbec
  2. Verena Schneider
  3. Abigail Fisher
  4. Dimitra Kale
  5. Lion Shahab
  6. Phillippa Lally

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Abstract

Understanding changes in moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity (MVPA) and muscle-strengthening activity (MSA) at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and their correlates (socio-demographics, health characteristics, living and exercise conditions and pre-pandemic MVPA/MSA) can inform interventions.

Design

A cross-sectional analysis of retrospective and concurrent data on MVPA/MSA.

Setting

An online survey in the UK.

Participants

2657 adults (weighted n=2442, 53.6% women) participating in the baseline survey (29 April 2020–14 June 2020) of the HEalth BEhaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic (HEBECO) study.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Meeting WHO-recommended levels for MVPA/MSA/both (vs meeting neither) during the first lockdown and changes in MVPA/MSA from before to since the COVID-19 pandemic following stratification for pre-pandemic MVPA/MSA.

Results

A third of adults maintained (30.4%), decreased (36.2%) or increased (33.4%) MVPA. For MSA, the percentages were 61.6%, 18.2% and 20.2%, respectively. MVPA increased or decreased by an average of 150 min/week and 219 min/week, respectively, and MSA by 2 days/week. Meeting both MSA+MVPA recommendations since COVID-19 (vs meeting neither) was positively associated with meeting MVPA+MSA before COVID-19 (adjusted OR (aOR)=16.11, 95% CI 11.24 to 23.07) and education: post-16 years of age (aOR=1.57, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.17), and negatively associated with having obesity (aOR=0.49, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.73), older age (65+ years vs ≤34 years; aOR=0.53, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.87) and annual household income of <50 000 GBP (aOR=0.65, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.91). The odds for decreasing MVPA were lower for white ethnicity (aOR=0.62, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.86), education: post-16 years of age (aOR=0.73, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.91) and access to garden/balcony (aOR=0.75, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.94), and were higher for those living in total isolation (aOR=3.81, 95% CI 2.33 to 6.23), with deteriorated psychological well-being (aOR=1.40, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.71) and conditions limiting physical activity (aOR=1.74, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.39). The odds for decreasing MSA were higher for having overweight (aOR=1.88, 95% CI 1.39 to 2.55), obesity (aOR=23.38, 95% CI 2.23 to 5.14) and being employed (aOR=1.81, 95% CI 1.34 to 2.46).

Conclusion

Aerobic and strength training were differently impacted during the first UK lockdown, with poorer outcomes associated with older age, lower education and higher body mass index. Targeted interventions may be required to avoid pandemic-related inequities in physical activity.

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  1. Version published to 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054029
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.01.16.21249925: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Analysis: Analyses were conducted in SPSS 26 with the data weighted using the 2018 Census and APS mid-year estimates for age, gender, ethnicity, country of living and household income.
    SPSS
    suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

    Results from OddPub: Thank you for sharing your data.

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Strength and limitation: The study is among a few that assessed the levels and changes to both MVPA and MSA during the first UK lockdown. The study drew on previously used measures of MVPA and MSA37, which were supplemented by images to clarify exercise types. This study also benefits from a large list of correlates and covariates being measured to control for confounding. A number of sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of findings. The key limitations are that this was a cross-sectional study among self-selected sample that relied on self-report and recall that are prone to bias. Finally, the unfolding of the Covid-19 pandemic has coincided with season change from winter to spring. Without a true baseline from the same period in 2019 it is not possible to tease apart the effect of weather change from that of the pandemic.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

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  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.01.16.21249925v1 on medRxiv