Psychological Health and Physical Activity Levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been devastating in all senses, particularly psychologically. Physical activity (PA) is known to aid psychological well-being, and it is worth investigating whether PA has been a coping strategy during this pandemic. The objective of this literature review is to analyze the extent to which engaging in PA during the COVID-19 pandemic impacts psychological health in the adult population. The literature was searched in all databases from the EBSCOhost Research Database—MEDLINE, APA PsycArticles, between others—published between 1 January 2019 and 15 July 2020. From 180 articles found, 15 were eligible. The reviewed articles showed an association between mental health distress—e.g., stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, social isolation, psychological distress—and PA. This research concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures caused psychological distress. Those studies that analyzed PA showed that, during quarantine, adults increased their sedentary time and reduced their PA levels, showing controversial psychological outcomes. This review discusses whether PA is an effective strategy to face the COVID-19 pandemic psychological effects contributing to a further putative increase in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders.

Impact of Changed Use of Greenspace during COVID-19 Pandemic on Depression and Anxiety

“…The risk of probable MD associated with decreased visits to greenspace was lower in the group using greenspace for psychological or physical purposes than the group not using greenspace for these reasons. A potential reason for this finding could be increased indoor physical activities (likely at home), which would mitigate general stress and psychological distress from COVID-19 [12]. The risk of probable MD was higher in the group using greenspace for social interactions than the group not using greenspace for such reason, which differs from findings of a previous study suggesting no significant association between greenspace and social support in pre-pandemic periods in Spain [40].…”

“…Pandemic mitigation measures such as physical/social distancing interventions, while intending to reduce virus transmission, may be detrimental to mental health and wellbeing, which are already hampered under public health and economic crisis conditions. A few articles suggested that the prolonged stay-at-home orders could lead to adverse mental health outcomes such as MD, GAD, and loneliness [9][10][11][12]. Increased prevalence of MD and GAD after the outbreak was reported in some countries including Canada, China, and Greece [13][14][15][16].…”

COVID-19-Related Quarantine Effect on Dietary Habits in a Northern Italian Rural Population: Data from the Brisighella Heart Study

“…Overall, our findings suggest a higher need to focus educational campaigns on dietary advice during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to prevent dangerous dietary changes and to recover a more healthy diet pattern after quarantine periods. Physical activity promotion could also be an effective tool to partially counterbalance the negative impact of food intake modification [ 24 ].…”

Active Game-Based Solutions for the Treatment of Childhood Obesity

“…Moreover, validation is required from medical professionals as to the program’s efficacy in the long-term treatment of childhood obesity, especially when it comes to maintaining healthy behaviors. On the other hand, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) [ 42 , 43 , 44 ] has affected the population’s physical activity and mental health [ 45 ]. Therefore, it is necessary to study whether this type of active video games can help maintain a healthy physical activity and at the same time, help people’s mental health.…”