In e na ional Jou nal o
En i onmen al Resea ch
and Public Heal h
A icle
Impac o COVID-19 Con inemen on Physical Ac i i y and
Seden a y Beha iou in Spanish Uni e si y S uden s:
Role o Gende
Ana Rod íguez-La ad 1, Asie Mañas 2,3 , Idoia Labayen 4, Ma cela González-G oss 5, Ande Espin 1,
Susana Azna 6, JoséAn onio Se ano-Sánchez 7,8, F ancisco J. Ve a-Ga cia 9, Domingo González-Lamuño 10,
Ignacio A a 2,3 , Luis Ca asco-Páez 11, JoséCas o-Piñe o 12,13 , Ma i Ca men Gómez-Cab e a 14,15 ,
Sa a Má quez 16 , Josep A. Tu 17 , Na cis Gusi 18 , Ped o J. Beni o 5, Diego Moline -U diales 19 ,
Jona an R. Ruiz 20 , F ancisco B. O ega 20 , Da id Jiménez-Pa ón13,21 , JoséAn onio Casajús22
and Jon I azus a 1,*


Ci a ion: Rod íguez-La ad, A.;
Mañas, A.; Labayen, I.;
González-G oss, M.; Espin, A.; Azna ,
S.; Se ano-Sánchez, J.A.; Ve a-Ga cia,
F.J.; González-Lamuño, D.; A a, I.;
e al. Impac o COVID-19
Con inemen on Physical Ac i i y
and Seden a y Beha iou in Spanish
Uni e si y S uden s: Role o Gende .
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,
18, 369. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/
ije ph18020369
Recei ed: 1 Decembe 2020
Accep ed: 2 Janua y 2021
Published: 6 Janua y 2021
Publishe ’s No e: MDPI s ays neu-
al wi h ega d o ju isdic ional clai-
ms in published maps and ins i u io-
nal a ilia ions.
Copy igh : © 2021 by he au ho s. Li-
censee MDPI, Basel, Swi ze land.
This a icle is an open access a icle
dis ibu ed unde he e ms and con-
di ions o he C ea i e Commons A -
ibu ion (CC BY) license (h ps://
c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/
4.0/).
1AgeingOn Resea ch G oup, Depa men o Physiology, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU),
48940 Leioa, Spain; [email p o ec ed] (A.R.-L.); ande [email p o ec ed] (A.E.)
2GENUD Toledo Resea ch G oup, Depa men o Physical Ac i i y and Spo Sciences,
Uni e sidad de Cas illa-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain; Asie [email p o ec ed] (A.M.);
[email p o ec ed] (I.A.)
3CIBER o F ail y and Heal hy Aging (CIBERFES), 28029 Mad id, Spain
4Depa men o Heal h Sciences, Ins i u e o Inno a ion & Sus ainable De elopmen in Food
Chain (IS-FOOD), Na a a Ins i u e o Heal h Resea ch (IdisNA), Public Uni e si y o Na a a,
Campus de A osadía, 31006 Pamplona, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
5Depa men o Heal h and Human Pe o mance, Uni e sidad Poli écnica de Mad id, 28040 Mad id, Spain;
ma cela.gonzalez.g [email p o ec ed] (M.G.-G.); [email p o ec ed] (P.J.B.)
6PAFS Resea ch G oup, Facul y o Spo s Sciences, Uni e si y o Cas illa-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain;
[email p o ec ed]
7Depa men o Physical Educa ion, Uni e si y o Las Palmas de G an Cana ia,
35017 Las Palmas de G an Cana ia, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
8Resea ch Ins i u e o Biomedical and Heal h Sciences (IUIBS), 35016 Las Palmas de G an Cana ia, Spain
9Spo s Resea ch Cen e, Depa men o Spo Sciences, Miguel He nández Uni e si y o Elche,
03202 Elche, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
10 Depa men o Medical and Su gical Sciences, Uni e si y o Can ab ia, 39011 San ande , Spain;
[email p o ec ed]
11 Depa men o Physical Educa ion and Spo s, Uni e si y o Se ille, 41013 Se illa, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
12 GALENO Resea ch G oup, Depa men o Physical Educa ion, Facul y o Educa ion Sciences,
Uni e si y o Cadiz, 11519 Pue o Real, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
13 Biomedical Resea ch and Inno a ion Ins i u e o Cadiz (INiBICA) Resea ch Uni , 11009 Cádiz, Spain;
[email p o ec ed]
14 F eshage Resea ch G oup, Depa men o Physiology, Facul y o Medicine, Uni e si y o Valencia,
46010 Valencia, Spain; Ca men.Gomez@u .es
15 CIBERFES, Fundación In es igación Hospi al Clínico Uni e si a io/INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
16 Ins i u e o Biomedicine (IBIOMED), Uni e si y o León, 24071 León, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
17 Resea ch G oup on Communi y Nu i ion and Oxida i e S ess, Fundamen al Biology and Heal h Sciences,
Uni e si y o he Balea ic Islands, IDISBA & CIBEROBN, 07122 Palma, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
18 Depa men o Didac ics o Musical, Plas ic and Body Exp ession, Facul y o Spo Sciences,
Uni e si y o Ex emadu a, 10003 Cáce es, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
19 LIFE Resea ch G oup, Depa men o Educa ion and Speci ic Didac ics, Uni e si y Jaume I,
12071 Cas ellóde la Plana, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
20 PROFITH “PROmo ing FITness and Heal h h ough Physical Ac i i y” Resea ch G oup,
Depa men o Physical Educa ion and Spo s, Facul y o Spo Sciences, Uni e si y o G anada,
18071 G anada, Spain; uizj@ug .es (J.R.R.); o ega @ug .es (F.B.O.)
21 MOVE-IT Resea ch G oup, Depa men o Physical Educa ion, Facul y o Educa ion Sciences,
Uni e si y o Cádiz, 11519 Pue o Real, Spain
22 Depa men o Physia y and Nu sing, Uni e si y o Za agoza, 50009 Za agoza, Spain; josean @uniza .es
*Co espondence: [email p o ec ed]; Tel.: +34-946-012-837
Abs ac :
Du ing he COVID-19 pandemic, en i e popula ions we e ins uc ed o li e in home-
con inemen o p e en he expansion o he disease. Spain was one o he coun ies wi h he s ic es
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ije ph18020369 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/ije ph
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369 2 o 14
condi ions, as ou doo physical ac i i y was banned o nea ly wo mon hs. This s udy aimed o
analyse he changes in physical ac i i y and seden a y beha iou s in Spanish uni e si y s uden s
be o e and du ing he con inemen by COVID-19 wi h special ocus on gende . We also analysed
enjoymen , he ools used and mo i a ion and impedimen s o doing physical ac i i y. An online
ques ionnai e, which included he In e na ional Physical Ac i i y Ques ionnai e Sho Fo m and
ce ain “ad hoc” ques ions, was designed. S uden s we e ec ui ed by dis ibu ing an in i a ion
h ough he adminis a i e channels o 16 uni e si ies and a o al o 13,754 alid su eys we e
collec ed. O e all, uni e si y s uden s educed mode a e (
−
29.5%) and igo ous (
−
18.3%) physical
ac i i y du ing he con inemen and inc eased seden a y ime (+52.7%). Howe e , hey spen mo e
ime on high in ensi y in e al aining (HIIT) (+18.2%) and mind-body ac i i ies (e.g., yoga) (+80.0%).
Adap a ion o he con inemen , in e ms o physical ac i i y, was handled be e by women han
by men. These esul s will help design s a egies o each gende o p omo e physical ac i i y and
educe seden a y beha iou du ing con inemen pe iods.
Keywo ds: pandemic; in e na ional physical ac i i y ques ionnai e; physical exe cise; lockdown
1. In oduc ion
The COVID-19 pandemic led almos all coun ies o ake ex ao dina y measu es
o a oid sp eading he disease [
1
]. En i e popula ions we e ins uc ed o li e in home-
con inemen o a numbe o weeks o mon hs. Spain was one o he coun ies wi h he
s ic es condi ions du ing he pandemic: lea ing home was only allowed o essen ial
needs, such as pu chasing ood o pha macological supplies and pe o ming speci ic p o-
essional ac i i ies. Any o he kind o ou doo ac i i y was banned o nea ly 2 mon hs.
E en indi idual ou doo physical ac i i y, which was pe mi ed in many o he coun ies,
was p ohibi ed in Spain [
2
]. These public heal h measu es imposed o p e en he ex-
pansion o he disease posed a signi ican challenge o s aying physically ac i e [
3
]. In
addi ion, du ing he s ay a home, leisu e in e es s migh ha e ocused on seden a y be-
ha iou s a ound sc een ac i i ies [
4
]. This may ep esen a conce n, as jus a ew days
o inac i i y can induce muscle loss, neu omuscula damage, insulin esis ance and a
deposi ion [
5
]. Mo eo e , home-con inemen may ha e a psychological and social impac
on indi iduals [6].
Regula physical ac i i y has well-known bene i s in heal h and has demons a ed
o be e ec i e o p e en ing he mos p e alen non-communicable pa hologies [
7
] and
dec easing mo ali y isk [
8
,
9
]. Rega ding communicable diseases, physical ac i i y im-
p o es he immune esponse o in ec ions, which could educe bo h he isk o in ec ion
by SARS-CoV-2 and he se e i y o COVID-19 symp oms [
10
]. In con as , a seden a y
li es yle has he opposi e e ec , since his may coun e ac many o he bene i s o physical
ac i i y [11,12].
Uni e si y li e usually coincides wi h he ansi ion be ween adolescence and adul -
hood, which is c ucial in es ablishing habi s ha will be main ained h oughou li e [
13
].
S uden s who a e mo e physically ac i e and wi h be e physical i ness exhibi be e
heal h- ela ed quali y o li e [
14
], heal h pa ame e s [
14
,
15
] and academic pe o mance [
16
].
In addi ion, being physically un i a a young age could also esul in a g ea e isk o
disabili y hi y yea s la e [
17
]. The con inemen and he closu e o spo s acili ies migh
ha e a ec ed physical ac i i y and seden a y beha iou o uni e si y s uden s and his
could ha e been u he exace ba ed by he implemen a ion o online classes.
Pa e ns o physical ac i i y a e no equal by gende . Women, compa ed o men,
spend less ime on ou doo ac i i ies a di e en ages. Thus, while assessing child en and
adolescen s, Klinke and colleagues showed ha gi ls pe o med less ou doo ac i i ies
and ha hey also spen less ime on mode a e o igo ous ou doo physical ac i i y han
boys [
18
]. The same endency was ound in he gene al popula ion [
19
] and in olde
adul s [
20
]. Gi en hese esul s, i was hypo hesized ha women would be less a ec ed by
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369 3 o 14
he home-con inemen and ha he e o e hei le els o physical ac i i y would no change
as much as men’s.
Mos s udies pe o med du ing he COVID-19 pandemic obse ed a global educ ion
in physical ac i i y in child en and adolescen s [
21
] and in he gene al popula ion [
22
,
23
],
wi h he educ ion especially p onounced in Spain [
24
]. Howe e , in Belgium, whe e
indi idual ou doo physical ac i i y was p omo ed, al hough seden a y ime inc eased,
mo e people exe cised du ing he con inemen han be o e [
25
]. P e ious s udies mainly
assessed quan i a i e aspec s o physical ac i i y (i.e., s eps aken, ime spen on di e en
in ensi ies) and e y ew conside ed quali a i e aspec s, such as ype o ac i i y, condi-
ioning ac o s and ools used o p ac ise i [
25
]. Analysing bo h aspec s oge he will
inc ease he unde s anding o he impac o he con inemen on ac i i y pa e ns. Mo eo e ,
wi h he excep ion o da a p o ided by companies ha manu ac u e ac i i y acke s [
24
],
ew s udies, which we e pe o med in he gene al popula ion [
25
], e alua ed changes in
physical ac i i y in la ge samples, nei he did hey conside gende o analyse he esul s.
Fu he mo e, he assessmen o physical ac i i y is e en mo e ele an in coun ies wi h
s ic p ohibi ions o do physical leisu e ac i i ies ou doo s, such as Spain.
Uni e si y s uden s belong o a g oup o pa amoun impo ance in he social and
economic de elopmen o socie y because hey will be quali ied p o essionals in he nea
u u e. In consequence, habi s ha could a ec hei heal h and wellbeing in he sho - and
he long- e m dese e o be s udied. Howe e , ew s udies, ha did no ake in o accoun
ei he gende o quali a i e aspec s [
26
] ha e analysed he impac o Co id-19 pandemic
on physical ac i i y in his speci ic popula ion.
The aim o his s udy was o analyse he changes in pa e ns o physical ac i i y and
seden a y beha iou s in Spanish uni e si y s uden s be o e and du ing he con inemen
wi h special ocus on gende . As a seconda y aim, we analysed he enjoymen , he ools
used and mo i a ion and impedimen s o do physical ac i i y.
2. Ma e ials and Me hods
This manusc ip p esen s da a om a compa a i e s udy (ClinicalT ials.go , NCT04361019),
analysing he di e ences be ween physical ac i i y- ela ed pa ame e s be o e and du ing
he con inemen due o COVID-19. Da a we e collec ed ia an online su ey [
27
] be ween
16 Ap il and 2 May. In his pe iod, he Spanish popula ion was s ic ly home-con ined
and only allowed o lea e home o essen ial needs, such as ood shopping o pu chasing
pha macological supplies, o o pe o m speci ic p o essional ac i i ies [
2
]. Police con olled
es ic ions abou lea ing home.
2.1. Su ey De elopmen and P omo ion
The su ey was based on he In e na ional Physical Ac i i y Ques ionnai e (IPAQ)
Sho Fo m. The su ey also included ques ions ega ding quali a i e aspec s o physical
ac i i y and seden a y beha iou s o pa icipan s be o e and du ing he con inemen .
S uden s egis e ed a Spanish Uni e si ies and li ing in Spain du ing he con inemen
we e eligible o pa icipa e in he s udy. Uni e si y s uden s olde han 55 yea s we e
excluded om he analysis. Pa icipan s we e ec ui ed by dis ibu ing an in i a ion
h ough adminis a i e channels o 16 uni e si ies and snowball sampling h ough social
media (Twi e , Facebook, Ins ag am and so on). All pa icipan s ga e hei in o med
consen be o e hey pa icipa ed in he s udy. The s udy was conduc ed in acco dance wi h
he decla a ion o Helsinki and he p o ocol was app o ed by he E hics Commi ee o
Human Beings o he Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (M10_2020_078).
2.2. Su ey Dimension
2.2.1. Sociodemog aphic, Academic and An h opome ic Da a
Da a conce ning gende , age, heigh , weigh , uni e si y, academic deg ee (Bachelo ’s,
Mas e ’s, PhD) and he b anch o knowledge o he s udies we e collec ed.
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369 4 o 14
2.2.2. Physical Ac i i y and Seden a y Beha iou
The ime spen on mode a e and igo ous physical ac i i ies, as well as walking and
seden a y ime, we e assessed using he IPAQ Sho Fo m, which has been alida ed among
Spanish uni e si y s uden s [
28
]. Addi ionally, ime pe week in each ype o physical
ac i i y pe o med (i.e., ae obic exe cises, s eng h aining, high in ensi y in e al aining
(HIIT, a ype o aining in ol ing epea ed bou s o high in ensi y e o ollowed by a ied
eco e y imes), spo s o mind-body exe cises such as Pila es, Tai-Chi and Yoga) and ime
pe day spen on leisu e- and s udy- ela ed sc een ac i i ies we e collec ed. Fo hese
a iables, each o he ques ions had o be esponded wice: i s ly, e e ing o “du ing he
con inemen ” and consecu i ely o “be o e he con inemen ” pe iods.
The ollowing quali a i e in o ma ion abou physical ac i i y du ing he con inemen
was also eco ded: (a) pe cei ed in ensi y and enjoymen o physical ac i i y (close-ended
ques ions wi h h ee op ions: “lowe han”, “highe han” o “equal o” be o e he con ine-
men ), (b) ools used o physical ac i i y (close-ended ques ions wi h yes/no esponse
op ions such as “equipmen o ae obic exe cise”, “equipmen o s eng h exe cise”, “ac-
i e ideogames”, “compu e applica ions”, “TV p og ams” o “social ne wo ks” and so
on), (c) easons o doing physical ac i i y (close-ended ques ions wi h yes/no esponse
op ions such as “i is impo an o my heal h”, “i is impo an o my image”, “i helps me
agains s ess and anxie y”, “I spend mo e ime si ing”, “I ha e mo e ime o exe cise” and
so on) and (d) easons o no doing physical ac i i y (close-ended ques ions wi h yes/no
esponse op ions such as “i is no a p io i y o me, “I canno go ou and do my usual
exe cise”, “I do no know how o exe cise a home”, “I ha e no ma e ial esou ces”, “I do
no ha e enough space” and so on). These ques ions we e designed ad hoc, conside ing
he speci ic con inemen si ua ion.
2.3. S a is ical Analysis
Con inuous a iables a e shown using mean (+s anda d de ia ion). No mali y o
he dis ibu ion o alues was checked by he Kolmogo o –Smi no es . Fo s a is ical
analysis, non-no mal da a we e squa e oo - ans o med. A pai ed - es was used o
compa e con inuous pa ame e s be o e and du ing he con inemen in he en i e sample.
In his es , e ec size was calcula ed by Cohen’s d. Values o Cohen’s d o 0.2, 0.5 and
0.8 we e conside ed small, medium and la ge, espec i ely [
29
]. The in e ac ion o gende
in he changes be o e and du ing he con inemen we e analysed by a mixed design (gende
×
ime) ANCOVA, including he b anch o knowledge o he s udies as a co a iable. As
a esul ,
η2
was calcula ed o analyse he e ec size. Values o
η2
o 0.01, 0.06, 0.13 we e
conside ed small, medium and la ge, espec i ely [
30
]. Ca ego ical da a we e exp essed by
pe cen ages in each ca ego y, while alues be ween men and women we e compa ed by
he
χ2
es and e ec size by
ϕ
o C amme ’s V. In hese es s, alues o 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 we e
conside ed small, medium and la ge, espec i ely [
31
]. Fo all analyses, signi icance
le el was se a p< 0.05. S a is ical analysis was pe o med using IBM SPSS S a is ics o
Windows e sion 24.0 (IBM Co p., A monk, NY, USA).
3. Resul s
3.1. Desc ip i e Analysis o Pa icipan s
Table 1shows he desc ip i e da a o he sample. A e sending an email o almos
500,000 s uden s o he 16 uni e si ies ha pa icipa ed in he s udy, a o al o 13,754 alid
su eys we e collec ed. The a e age age o esponden s was 22.6 yea s o women ( ange:
18–54) and 23.2 yea s o men ( ange: 18–54): 65.2% o pa icipan s we e women, 34.3%
we e men and 0.5% did no decla e gende .
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369 5 o 14
Table 1. Desc ip i e da a o s udy sample.
Va iable O e all Women Men
Age (yea s), mean (SD) * n= 13,754 n= 8960 n= 4728
22.8 (5.3) 22.6 (4.9) 23.2 (5.8)
Body Mass Index (kg/m2), mean (SD) * n= 13,623 n= 8859 n= 4699
22.6 (3.3) 22.0 (3.3) 23.5 (3.1)
Academic deg ee, n(%) * n= 13,753 n= 8959 n= 4728
Bachelo ’s deg ee 11,360 (82.6) 7484 (83.5) 3819 (80.8)
Mas e ’s deg ee 1322 (9.6) 803 (9.0) 513 (10.9)
PhD 995 (7.2) 613 (6.8) 379 (8.0)
O he 76 (0.6) 59 (0.7) 17 (0.4)
B anch o knowledge, n(%) * n= 13,629 n= 8860 n= 4704
A s and Humani ies 1315 (9.6) 1055 (11.9) 243 (5.2)
Enginee ing and A chi ec u e 3238 (23.8) 1334 (15.1) 1890 (40.2)
Expe imen al sciences 1346 (9.9) 851 (9.6) 489 (10.4)
Heal h sciences 3612 (26.5) 2869 (32.4) 730 (15.5)
Social and Legal sciences 3303 (24.2) 2441 (27.6) 847 (18.0)
Physical Ac i i y and Spo s sciences 815 (6.0) 310 (3.5) 505 (10.7)
Housing ype, n(%) * n= 13,577 n= 8848 n= 4645
Apa men in mul i-s o ey building 8819 (65.1) 5823 (65.8) 2946 (63.4)
Semi-de ached house 2480 (18.3) 1575 (17.8) 896 (19.3)
Isola ed amily house 2258 (16.7) 1450 (16.4) 803 (17.3)
Coexis ence a home, n(%) * n= 13,741 n= 8951 n= 4724
Pa en s 3663 (26.7) 2366 (26.4) 1277 (27.0)
Pa en s and siblings 6348 (46.2) 4141 (46.3) 2180 (46.1)
Pa ne 935 (6.8) 692 (7.7) 235 (5.0)
Roomma es 1501 (10.9) 957 (10.7) 537 (11.4)
Alone 458 (3.3) 261 (2.9) 196 (4.1)
O he 836 (6.1) 534 (6.0) 299 (6.3)
Coexis ence in uni size, n(%) * n= 13,703 n= 8933 n= 4705
1 pe son 429 (3.1) 229 (2.6) 197 (4.2)
2 people 1904 (13.9) 1331 (14.9) 562 (11.9)
3 people 3878 (28.3) 2513 (28.1) 1346 (28.6)
4 people 5557 (40.6) 3631 (40.6) 1904 (40.5)
≥5 people 1935 (14.1) 1229 (13.8) 696 (14.8)
COVID-19 ela ed in o ma ion, n(%)
Sel - epo ed symp oms n= 13,734 n= 8947 n= 4721
846 (6.2) 535 (6.0) 302 (6.4)
Diagnosed by heal h p o essional n= 13,718 n= 8936 n= 4716
95 (0.7) 61 (0.7) 32 (0.7)
Coexis ence a home wi h a ec ed n= 13,741 n= 8953 n= 4722
427 (3.1) 264 (2.9) 161 (3.4)
No e: * p< 0.05, s a is ically signi ican di e ence (S uden ’s T o χ2 es s) be ween women and men.
3.2. Changes in he Whole Sample
Table 2shows he changes in he ime spen on each in ensi y and ype o ac i i y, be-
o e and du ing he con inemen . Uni e si y s uden s spen less ime on mode a e (
−
29.5%;
Cohen’s d = 0.210) and igo ous (
−
18.3%; Cohen’s d = 0.113) physical ac i i y du ing he
con inemen han be o e i . A mo e d as ic (
−
84.3%; Cohen’s d = 1.340) educ ion in walk-
ing ime was also obse ed. Rega ding ype o physical ac i i y, whe eas he ime spen
on ae obic ac i i y (
−
31.3%; Cohen’s d = 0.277) and spo s (
−
87.4%; Cohen’s
d = 0.582
)
was lowe du ing he con inemen , uni e si y s uden s pe o med mo e HIIT (+18.2%;
Cohen’s d = 0.141) and mind-body ac i i ies (+80.0%, Cohen’s d = 0.362), while main ain-
ing s eng h exe cises (
−
0.7%) in his pe iod. Seden a y ime inc eased (+52.7% Cohen’s

In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369 6 o 14
d = 0.998
) du ing he con inemen , including leisu e- ime (+71.9%; Cohen’s
d = 1.244
) and
s udy- ela ed (+37.1%; Cohen’s d = 0.587) sc een ime.
Table 2.
Pa icipan s’ epo ed Physical Ac i i y, Exe cise and Seden a y Time du ing COVID-19 con inemen . O e all
sample.
Va iable Be o e he
Con inemen
Du ing he
Con inemen Change S uden ’s Pai ed T
Tes (p)Cohen’s d
IPAQ-SF
Vigo ous PA
(min/week) 327 (374) 267 (309) −18.3% <0.001 0.113
Mode a e PA
(min/week) 376 (563) 265 (408) −29.5% <0.001 0.210
Walking ime
(min/week) 766 (820) 120 (318) −84.3% <0.001 1.340
Seden a y ime
(min/day) 357 (178) 545 (200) +52.7% <0.001 0.998
Exe cise
Ae obic
(min/week) 208 (240) 143 (179) −31.3% <0.001 0.277
S eng h
(min/week) 136 (189) 135 (171) −0.1% <0.001 0.048
HIIT (min/week) 66 (125) 78 (145) +18.2% <0.001 0.142
Mind-body
(min/week) 40 (105) 72 (143) +80.0% <0.001 0.361
Spo s (min/week)
95 (193) 12 (68) −87.4% <0.001 0.582
Sc een ime
Leisu e (min/day) 217 (140) 373 (202) +71.9% <0.001 1.244
S udy, wo k
(min/day) 251 (149) 344 (165) +37.1% <0.001 0.587
No es: Da a a e p esen ed as mean (SD). Sample size anges be ween 12,526 and 13,491 in he di e en a iables. HIIT, High In ensi y
In e al T aining; IPAQ-SF, In e na ional Physical Ac i i y Ques ionnai e Sho Fo m; min, minu es; PA, Physical Ac i i y.
Table 3shows he quali a i e in o ma ion abou physical ac i i y du ing he con ine-
men . Pa icipan s who epo ed ha he in ensi y o ae obic (51.3%) and s eng h (38.8%)
exe cise was lowe du ing he con inemen han be o e ou numbe hose who epo ed
he opposi e (29.8% and 35.2%, espec i ely). Howe e , ega ding HIIT, he p opo ion
o pa icipan s who el ha he in ensi y was highe (30.5%) o lowe (30.2%) du ing
he con inemen was simila . In addi ion, while 45.5% o he pa icipan s enjoyed doing
physical ac i i y less du ing he con inemen han be o e i , only 27.1% enjoyed i mo e.
The main easons o doing physical ac i i y we e o p omo e heal h (74.4%) and o educe
s ess (65.5%), while he main easons o no engaging in physical ac i i y we e legal
es ic ions on ou doo ac i i ies (9.3%) and lack o ime (7.6%). Finally, u o ials on social
media (63.9%) and equipmen used o s eng h exe cises (52.3%) we e he mos equen ly
used ools.
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369 7 o 14
Table 3.
Pa icipan s’ pe cep ions and esou ces ega ding he p ac ice o physical exe cise du ing
he COVID-19 con inemen . O e all sample.
Va iable n(%)
In ensi y, ae obic (n= 13,183)
Same as be o e 2493 (18.9)
Highe han be o e 3929 (29.8)
Lowe han be o e 6761 (51.3)
In ensi y, s eng h (n= 13,412)
Same as be o e 3480 (25.9)
Highe han be o e 4722 (35.2)
Lowe han be o e 5210 (38.8)
In ensi y, HIIT (n= 12,819)
Same as be o e 5046 (39.4)
Highe han be o e 3904 (30.5)
Lowe han be o e 3869 (30.2)
Enjoymen when exe cising (n= 13,367)
Same as be o e 3660 (27.4)
Highe han be o e 3627 (27.1)
Lowe han be o e 6080 (45.5)
A ailable spaces o exe cising (n= 13,754)
Room, hallways 8833 (64.2)
Li ing oom 6523 (47.4)
Cou ya d 1043 (7.6)
Ga den/Ex e io ee space 2928 (21.3)
O he 1696 (12.3)
Tools used o exe cising (n= 13,754)
Equipmen o ae obic exe cise 3617 (26.3)
Equipmen o s eng h exe cises 7198 (52.3)
Ac i e ideogames 1001 (7.3)
Compu e applica ions 2776 (20.2)
TV p og ams 724 (5.3)
Social ne wo ks 8790 (63.9)
Reasons o exe cise (n= 13,754)
I is impo an o my heal h 10,231 (74.4)
I is impo an o my image 5769 (41.9)
I helps me agains s ess and anxie y 8876 (64.5)
I spend mo e ime si ing 4305 (31.3)
I ha e mo e ime o exe cise 4768 (34.7)
I ha e ound di e en esou ces 3013 (21.9)
My ood in ake is highe 2447 (17.8)
My en i onmen pushes me o i 1252 (9.1)
Reasons no o exe cise (n= 13,754)
I is no a p io i y o me 639 (4.6)
I canno go ou and do my usual exe cise 1282 (9.3)
I do no know how o exe cise a home 368 (2.7)
I ha e no ma e ial esou ces 768 (5.6)
I do no ha e enough space 986 (7.2)
I ha e less ime o exe cise 1050 (7.6)
My heal h s a e p e en s me 209 (1.5)
No e: HIIT, High In ensi y In e al T aining.
3.3. Gende -Rela ed Di e ences
Table 4shows changes in he ime spen on di e en in ensi ies and ypes o physical
ac i i y and seden a y beha iou be o e and du ing he con inemen in men and women.
The ime spen on mode a e (
η2
o ime
×
g oup = 0.009) and igo ous (
η2
o ime
×
g oup = 0.02) physical ac i i ies dec eased mo e in men (
−
39.2% and
−
31.8%, espec i ely)
han in women (
−
24.6% and
−
9.1%, espec i ely). Howe e , he educ ion in walking ime
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369 8 o 14
was sligh ly bu signi ican ly la ge in women han in men (
−
84.8% s.
−
83.2%;
η2
o ime
×
g oup = 0.003). In addi ion, while men dec eased he ime spen on s eng h exe cise
(
−
13.3%) and hey main ained HIIT ac i i ies, women inc eased he ime spen on s eng h
exe cise (+10.1%) and HIIT (+32.2%) du ing he con inemen (η2 o ime ×g oup = 0.011
o s eng h and
η2
o ime
×
g oup = 0.007 o HIIT). Simila ly, men dec eased he ime
spen on ae obic ac i i ies mo e (
−
48.6%) han women (
−
19.9%;
η2
o ime
×
g oup =
0.03). Men (
−
89.7% s.
−
85.3%) dec eased he ime doing spo s mo e han women did (
η2
o ime
×
g oup = 0.057). The ime doing mind-body ac i i ies inc eased mo e in women
(+93.3%) han in men (+43.3%) (
η2
o ime
×
g oup = 0.021). Finally, seden a y ime (
η2
o ime
×
g oup = 0.002) and leisu e sc een ime (
η2
o ime
×
g oup = 0.003) inc eased
sligh ly mo e in men (+54.7% and +76.7%) han in women (+51.5% and +69.4%).
Table 4.
Pa icipan s’ epo ed physical ac i i y, exe cise and seden a y ime, du ing he COVID-19 con inemen . Compa i-
son be ween women and men.
Va iable
Women Men ANCOVA
g× (p)†η2
B.C. D.C. Change B.C. D.C. Change
IPAQ-SF
Vigo ous PA (m/w) ‡ 296 (372) 269 (319) −9.1% 386 (371) 263 (290) ¶ −31.9% <0.001 0.020
Mode a e PA (m/w) ‡§ 385 (575) 290 (420) ¶ −24.7% 359 (538) 218 (382) ¶ −39.3% <0.001 0.009
Walking ime (m/w) ‡§ 803 (845) 122 (310) ¶ −84.8% 697 (764) 117 (332) ¶ −83.2% <0.001 0.003
Seden a y ime (m/d)
‡
§
353 (175) 535 (197) ¶ +51.6% 364 (184) 563 (205) ¶ +54.7% <0.001 0.002
Exe cise
Ae obic (m/w) ‡§ 196 (229) 157 (179) ¶ −19.9% 230 (256) 119 (177) ¶ −48.3% <0.001 0.032
S eng h (m/w) ‡§ 109 (174) 120 (161) ¶ +10.1% 187 (205) 162 (185) ¶ −13.4% <0.001 0.011
HIIT (m/w) ‡§ 62 (122) 82 (151) ¶ +32.3% 72 (131) 72 (132) ±0.0% <0.001 0.007
Mind-body (m/w) ‡§ 45 (114) 87 (155) ¶ +93.3% 30 (84) 43 (111) ¶ +43.3% <0.001 0.021
Spo s (m/w) ‡§ 68 (169) 10 (63) ¶ −85.3% 145 (224) 15 (76) ¶ −89.7% <0.001 0.057
Sc een ime
Leisu e (m/d) § 216 (141) 366 (200) ¶ +69.4% 219 (138) 387 (204) +76.7% <0.001 0.003
S udy, wo k (m/d) ‡§ 256 (149) 349 (165) ¶ +36.3% 243 (149) 334 (165) ¶ +37.4% 0.369
<0.001
No es: Da a a e p esen ed as mean (SD). Sample size anges be ween 8148 and 8811 in women and 4356 and 4680 in men in he di e en
a iables. B.C., be o e he con inemen ; D.C., du ing he con inemen ; g x , G oup pe Time in e ac ion; HIIT, High In ensi y In e al
T aining; IPAQ-SF, In e na ional Physical Ac i i y Ques ionnai e Sho Fo m; m/d, minu es/day; m/w, minu es/week; PA, Physical
Ac i i y.
†
Adjus ed o b anch o knowledge.
‡
p<0.05 (S uden ’s independen T es ) be ween women and men in be o e he con inemen .
§p< 0.05 (S uden ’s independen T es ) be ween women and men in du ing he con inemen .
¶
p< 0.05 (S uden ’s pai ed T es ) be ween
be o e and du ing con inemen .
Table 5shows he di e ences be ween women and men ega ding he quali a i e
in o ma ion abou physical ac i i y du ing he con inemen . Mo e women han men
(K amme ’s V = 0.2) epo ed ha hey inc eased he in ensi y o ae obic (36.4% s. 17.5%),
s eng h (37.2% s. 31.5%) and HIIT (33.6% s. 24.2%) ac i i ies du ing he con inemen
(Table 5); he e we e also mo e women (33.6%) han men (15.0%) who inc eased hei
enjoymen o physical ac i i y du ing his pe iod (K amme ’s V = 0.221). Social media
we e mo e widely used o p ac ising physical ac i i y in women (76.6%;
ϕ
= 0.362), wi h
equipmen o s eng h exe cises being mo e common in men (58.7%;
ϕ
= 0.092). Heal h
p omo ion and educ ion o s ess we e he mos equen easons o doing physical
ac i i y in bo h gende s, wi h he i s being mo e equen in men (75.9%;
ϕ
= 0.024) and
he second in women (67.5%; ϕ= 0.083). Finally, lack o ime o women (7.7%; ϕ= 0.027)
and es ic ions on going ou o men (13.3%;
ϕ
= 0.030) we e he mos common p oblems
in e ms o no doing physical ac i i y.
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 369 9 o 14
Table 5.
Pa icipan s’ pe cep ions and esou ces ega ding he p ac ice o physical exe cise du ing
he COVID-19 con inemen . Compa ison be ween women and men.
Va iable Women Men χ2(p)Phi/C ame ’s V
In ensi y, ae obic n= 8610 n= 4510
Same as be o e 1561 (18.1) 917 (20.3) <0.001 0.200
Highe han be o e 3132 (36.4) 787 (17.5)
Lowe han be o e 3917 (45.5) 2806 (62.2)
In ensi y, s eng h n= 8735 n= 4612
Same as be o e 2459 (28.2) 1000 (21.7) <0.001 0.120
Highe han be o e 3251 (37.2) 1455 (31.5)
Lowe han be o e 3025 (34.6) 2157 (46.8)
In ensi y, HIIT n= 8365 n= 4393
Same as be o e 3288 (39.3) 1730 (39.4) <0.001 0.108
Highe han be o e 2809 (33.6) 1084 (24.7)
Lowe han be o e 2268 (27.1) 1579 (35.9)
Enjoymen when exe cising n= 8704 n= 4597
Same as be o e 2422 (27.8) 1219 (26.5) <0.001 0.221
Highe han be o e 2925 (33.6) 690 (15.0)
Lowe han be o e 3357 (38.6) 2688 (58.5)
A ailable spaces o exe cising n= 8960 n= 4728
Room, hallways 5778 (64.5) 3009 (63.6) 0.327 0.008
Li ing oom 4684 (52.3) 1812 (38.3) <0.001 0.133
Cou ya d 615 (6.9) 425 (9.0) <0.001 0.038
Ga den, ex e io ee space 1955 (21.8) 967 (20.5) 0.064 0.016
O he 980 (10.9) 709 (15.0) <0.001 0.059
Tools used o exe cising n= 8960 n= 4728
Equipmen o ae obic exe cise 2314 (25.8) 1295 (27.4) 0.048 0.017
Equipmen o s eng h exe cises 4396 (49.1) 2777 (58.7) <0.001 0.092
Ac i e ideogames 691 (7.7) 304 (6.4) 0.006 0.023
Compu e applica ions 1912 (21.3) 853 (18.0) <0.001 0.039
TV p og ams 584 (6.5) 135 (2.9) <0.001 0.078
Social ne wo ks 6860 (76.6) 1893 (40.0) <0.001 0.362
Reasons o exe cise n= 8960 n= 4728
I is impo an o my heal h 6603 (73.7) 3590 (75.9) 0.004 0.024
I is impo an o my image 3748 (41.8) 2002 (42.3) 0.563 0.005
I helps me agains s ess and anxie y 6044 (67.5) 2795 (59.1) <0.001 0.083
I spend mo e ime si ing 3071 (34.3) 1212 (25.6) <0.001 0.089
I ha e mo e ime o exe cise 3466 (38.7) 1284 (27.2) <0.001 0.115
I ha e ound di e en esou ces 2438 (27.2) 559 (11.8) <0.001 0.177
My ood in ake is highe 1787 (19.9) 652 (13.8) <0.001 0.076
My en i onmen pushes me o i 859 (9.6) 390 (8.2) 0.010 0.022
Reasons no o exe cise n= 8960 n= 4728
I is no a p io i y o me 378 (4.2) 256 (5.4) 0.002 0.037
I canno go ou and do my usual exe cise 643 (7.2) 627 (13.3) <0.001 0.027
I do no know how o exe cise a home 223 (2.5) 143 (3.0) 0.065 0.100
I ha e no ma e ial esou ces 387 (4.3) 374 (7.9) <0.001 0.016
I do no ha e enough space 589 (6.6) 387 (8.2) <0.001 0.075
I ha e less ime o exe cise 688 (7.7) 349 (7.4) 0.532 0.030
My s a e o heal h p e en s me 145 (1.6) 61 (1.3) 0.134 0.005
No es: Da a a e p esen ed as n(%). HIIT, High In ensi y In e al T aining.
4. Discussion
The p esen s udy shows ha uni e si y s uden s sligh ly dec eased he ime spen on
mode a e and igo ous physical ac i i ies, bu hey conside ably dec eased he ime spen
on walking and doing spo s du ing he con inemen . Mo eo e , s uden s subs an ially
inc eased seden a y ime and leisu e- ime sc een ac i i ies du ing his pe iod. In con as ,
hey inc eased he ime doing HIIT and mind-body ac i i ies and hey main ained s eng h
exe cise. Women adap ed hei pa e n o physical ac i i y o he con inemen be e ; hey
educed he ime spen on mode a e and igo ous physical ac i i y less and hey inc eased
he ime doing s eng h exe cise, HIIT and mind-body ac i i ies mo e han men did. In
addi ion, mo e women han men enjoyed doing physical ac i i y mo e du ing han be o e
he pandemic. We conside ha hese esul s should be aken in o accoun o p omo e
physical ac i i y in pu a i e u u e scena ios whe e s ic con inemen s a e needed.