Individual, Sociodemographic, and Environmental Factors Related to Physical Activity During the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

Background. Recent findings have shown changes in physical activity (PA) levels during the COVID-19 lockdown.Objective. To appraise the psychological, sociodemographic and, environmental levers and barriers to PA during the COVID-19 lockdown.Method. In this cross-sectional study, participants living in France (N= 390) completed an on-line survey between March 30 and April 10. Questions about physical activity before and during the lockdown, psychological (e.g., intention, self-efficacy), sociodemographic (gender, age, number of children) and environmental (habitat surface area, type of housing) factors were included in this survey. Multiple linear regressions were used to investigate the role of psychological, sociodemographic, and environmental predictors on PA. Intention and self-efficacy were examined as moderators and mediators of the association between sociodemographic/environmental factors and PA.Results. Habitat surface area, intention toward physical activity, and usual physical activity before the COVID-19 lockdown predicted PA during the lockdown. No mediating effects of intention, and self-efficacy were found. Self-efficacy significantly moderated the association between number of children and PA. Intention significantly moderated the association between gender and PA.Conclusions. Psychological, sociodemographic, and environmental factors were significantly associated with moderate to vigorous PA during the COVID-19 lockdown in France. Additional research is needed to understand how socio-ecological factors might be implemented to promote physical activity.

Being Active during the Lockdown: The Recovery Potential of Physical Activity for Well-Being

“…The percentage of explained variance highlights that the level of PA during the COVID-19 lockdown did not depend exclusively on previous usual levels of PA. This is in line with the idea that a context change can disrupt existing habits [18,58]. These results highlight that other psychological, sociodemographic, and environmental factors could predict PA during the lockdown, in addition to before-lockdown PA habits.…”

On the Move or Barely Moving? Age-Related Changes in Physical Activity, Sedentary, and Sleep Behaviors by Weekday/Weekend Following Pandemic Control Policies

“…Furthermore, declines in PA and increases in SS could be due to the well-documented changes in PA as children get older [ 10 ]. Contrary to previous studies [ 16 , 29 ], pre-pandemic PA was unrelated to PA changes, suggesting that children of all PA levels experienced early-pandemic-related changes.…”

“…Other demographic factors, including sex, race, socioeconomic status, weight status, and geographic locale (i.e., urban, suburban, rural) have been associated with children’s PA prior to the pandemic [ 13 , 14 , 15 ] and may be related to pandemic-related changes in PA. Furthermore, pre-pandemic PA has been shown to be related to PA during the pandemic among adults [ 16 ], which warrants investigating this factor in children.…”

Widening the gap? Unintended consequences of health promotion measures for young people during COVID-19 lockdown

“…Families without this space were thus excluded from participating fully in many of the promoted lockdown activities. As suggested by Teran-Escobar et al who conducted a survey examining barriers to physical activity during the COVID-19 lockdown in France, smaller homes were indeed associated with lower levels of physical activity during lockdown ( Teran-Escobar et al , 2020 ). Furthermore, while youth who adopt suggested physical activities could benefit from feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment, youth who cannot participate in the physical activities may not experience this.…”