Level of physical activity and sedentary behaviors before and during confinement due to COVID-19 in Mexican adults

Abstract

The declaration of the coronavirus strain (SARS-CoV-2) as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) forces the confinement of millions of people, as well as to modify habits and lifestyles. Mexico is a country with high numbers of diseases that are associated with physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle, which cause thousands of deaths a year. The aim is to compare the level of physical activity and the time dedicated to sedentary behaviors before and during confinement due to COVID-19 in a sample of Mexican adults. The population under study is 1,027 subjects (52.9% women and 47.1% men) with a median age of 22 and an average of 27.36 years of age, the majority are Latino, students, single, with completed undergraduate studies and average socioeconomic level. The results showed that the level of physical activity tends to decrease due to confinement on the seven days of the week and the time allocated to sedentary behaviors such as watching TV / video / DVD's / Netflix, resting, doing cognitive activities (hobbies), play computer / video games (not active), listen to music, and chat with family or friends increases. It confirms that COVID-19 lockdown has a negative impact on people's lifestyles during free time. Innovative actions are required to mitigate the negative consequences of home confinement.