Daily Physical Activity and Sleep Measured by Wearable Activity Trackers during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Lesson for Preventing Physical Inactivity during Future Pandemics

Abstract

Wearable activity trackers are devices that are comfortably worn on the body and are designed to be effective in monitoring daily physical activity and improving physical fitness of the wearer. This review aimed to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on physical activity measured using wearable activity trackers and discuss future perspectives on wearable activity trackers during pandemics. Daily physical activity was significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of strict public health measures, such as total lockdown, can decrease people’s physical activity by 50% or more of that prior to the lockdown. Physical inactivity is significantly associated with several health problems, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancers; therefore, an effective healthcare system to prevent physical inactivity during pandemics should be established. It is essential to create a network between healthcare organizations and wearable activity tracker users to monitor real-time health status and prepare for the future pandemic.

“Wearables on vogue”: a scoping review on wearables on physical activity and sedentary behavior during COVID-19 pandemic

“…From the evidence included, we found a significant increase in the use of wearables to improve physical activity during the confinement or lockdown periods [21,24]. There is a convincing evidence to show that there is a significant decrease in physical activity and increased sedentary time in people around the world when judged objectively using wearables [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Figure 2 represents the summary of our findings.…”

“…Majority of studies (n = 9; 53%) employed wrist bands and wristwatches of multiple technology firms (Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi) and wearable research-based accelerometers [20,23,25,26,[28][29][30]32]. A few studies (n = 4; 24%) reported the psychometrics of the wearables, and lowto-moderate validity was found [21,22,27].…”

“…The average reduction in the daily step count after the pandemic compared to before the pandemic was 2812 steps/day. The studies had reported a significant reduction in standing time (− 32.7%), walking time (− 52.2%) and step count (− 29%) during lockdown when the physical activity was monitored with the wearables [22,26]. Mean energy expenditure was reduced to 70 kcal compared to before pandemic [23].…”

“…Wearables are intriguing means for measuring and monitoring physical activity at the population level in spite of arguments over their validity and reliability [22]. Cloud computing and artificial intelligence have leveraged healthcare through wearable sensors, increasing health monitoring and medical automation for speedy diagnosis, including COVID-19 [33].…”

“…Cloud computing and artificial intelligence have leveraged healthcare through wearable sensors, increasing health monitoring and medical automation for speedy diagnosis, including COVID-19 [33]. The above facts are reciprocated with double-fold increase in utilization of wearable devices to self-monitor physical behavior during this pandemic [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]34]. Although found to be less valid and reliable compared to research-based accelerometers, these wearables provide an opportunity for its end users to self-monitor their physical activity levels, energy expenditure, sleep, sitting time and create a framework for personalized prevention [34].…”