Physical Sports Activities and Exercise Addiction during Lockdown in the Spanish Population

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the paralysis of the worldwide economy caused by the population’s lockdown to stop the virus spreading, making it difficult to do exercise. The aim of this study is to analyse the commitment to and feeling of insecurity related to practising sport, sports habits and the profile of the Spanish population during lockdown according to the level of addiction to exercise. The sample consisted of 1019 subjects with a mean age of 35 years old. The variables analysed were exercise addiction, commitment to and feeling of insecurity related to sport, and sport habits. Three groups were identified according to their addiction level to exercise: asymptomatic (n = 202), symptomatic (n = 756), and at risk of addiction (n = 61). The main results indicated that a higher addiction level was associated with a higher number of days and time spent on exercise per week. Six percent of the subjects were at addiction risk, and they had a lower feeling of insecurity towards sport. These findings provide information to governments on the need to promote physical activity programmes at home to promote adequate fitness and mental wellbeing in the population.

Has COVID-19 Changed the Lifestyle and Dietary Habits in the Spanish Population after Confinement?

“…As mentioned above, several studies worldwide, such as those by Savarese et al [3], Muscogiuri et al [4], and Berengui et al [18], reported a greater intake of processed or hypercaloric products caused by the stress of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, an international online study, with the majority of participants being women, also showed that the number of snacks between meals increased significantly during home confinement [25]; however, in our study, during post-confinement, it was observed that, regarding the intake of salty snacks, processed pastries and soft drinks on a weekly basis, the majority response was that these types of products were not consumed.…”

“…The vast majority of the subjects had a face-to-face work modality, followed by the blended work modality. This could have a positive influence when it came to reducing the possible intake of hypercaloric foods because the prolonged stay at home could lead to anxiety and a lack of routine and, consequently, the increased consumption of this type of food as a way to relieve stress, as reflected in the studies by Savarese et al [3], Muscogiuri et al [4] and Berengui et al [18]. However, on the other hand, returning to face-to-face work prevented dedicating the recommended time to meals and their preparation processes; therefore, people consumed precooked and processed foods with scarce nutritional value.…”

“…However, these results were in contrast to those reported by other studies, which determined that the Spanish diet during confinement was of a lower quality and did not follow the ideal pattern of the Mediterranean diet. Instead, the Spanish diet during confinement was more caloric and had an increased intake of red meat [17] and foods with a high sugar content, due to stress [18].…”

Exercise addiction in Mexico: Psychometric properties of the Exercise Addiction Inventory and risk analysis

“…Exercise addiction has been defined as a strong desire to exercise, becoming more important than other spheres of life, such as family, social relations, work, etc., and is characterized by the lack of control and maintenance of behaviour, despite the negative consequences, causing withdrawal symptoms when spending several days without exercising (Goodman, 1990;Hausenblas & Symons-Downs, 2002;Szabo, 1995Szabo, , 1998Szabo, , 2000Youngman & Simpson, 2014). Therefore, exercise addiction can be considered a real problem with a great impact, because it may lead to risky behaviours (Berengüí et al, 2021).…”

The Validity of Wireless Earbud-Type Wearable Sensors for Head Angle Estimation and the Relationships of Head with Trunk, Pelvis, Hip, and Knee during Workouts

“…The results of a survey completed by 606 respondents from 132 countries indicated that squats, single-leg squats, push-ups, and lunges were the most commonly applied workouts during by athletes the COVID-19 quarantine period [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid changes in the traditional workout industry (from contact to noncontact workout settings) via online platforms and wearable devices [2]. Wearable sensors have the advantages of portability, suitability for indoor workouts, facilitation of large population analysis, and longitudinal tracking of motion data for patients with musculoskeletal pain [3].…”