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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

COVID-19 caused a global pandemic state. Many governments enforced quarantines which had several negative effects on peoples’ health. The present study aimed to investigate the social restriction effects on the physical activity (PA) habits of north Italian people and understand whether PA was a healthy support during lockdown. Moreover, it analysed some possible strategies which could promote an active lifestyle when the pandemic ends. A new questionnaire was proposed (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.816), and 309 surveys were collected in people from two Italian regions (53.72% from Emilia-Romagna and 46.28% from Veneto; 62.46% were female and 37.54% were male; and the age range was 46.67 ± 15.45 years). The number of younger people (≤25 years) who practiced PA increased during lockdown (p < 0.01); in addition, they were more active than people who were 26–35 years old (p < 0.001). The training frequency before COVID-19 was higher in females than males (p = 0.01), and the frequency of weekly PA increased during lockdown in groups aged 26–35 years (p < 0.001). Despite the fact that PA was a psychological support during lockdown (p < 0.001), performing forced home-based PA demotivated people (p < 0.001). Finally, people thought to practice outdoor PA (OPA) at the end of lockdown because they wanted to retain contact with nature, which can improve psychological well-being. Future strategies to promote OPA may increase participation in PA, especially in older people.

Details

Title
The Evaluation of Physical Activity Habits in North Italian People before and during COVID-19 Quarantine: A Pilot Study
Author
Mauro, Mario 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Grigoletto, Alessia 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zambon, Maria Cristina 3 ; Bettocchi, Marzia 3 ; Pegreffi, Francesco 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Fimognari, Carmela 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Bragonzoni, Laura 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pasqualino Maietta Latessa 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Toselli, Stefania 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Life Quality Studies, University of Bologna, 47921 Rimini, Italy; [email protected] (M.M.); [email protected] (F.P.); [email protected] (C.F.); [email protected] (L.B.) 
 Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy; [email protected] 
 Welfare Area and Promotion of Community Wellness, Bologna Municipality, 40126 Bologna, Italy; [email protected] (M.C.Z.); [email protected] (M.B.) 
First page
1660
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2627535329
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.