Impact of risk for severe COVID-19 illness on physical activity during the pandemic.
Kelly L Wierenga, Susan M Perkins, Anna K Forster and 6 others
PMID 37187106WHAT IT FOUND
U.S. adults with conditions raising severe COVID-19 risk reported more physical inactivity during the pandemic.
Early, active high-risk adults also reported less weekly activity. The sample was mostly middle-aged white women, so do not generalise widely.
Key findings
01High-risk adults had significantly greater odds of reporting inactivity in March 2020 (odds ratio 2.81) and April 2021 (odds ratio 4.12).
02Among active participants, high-risk adults reported lower weekly activity early in the pandemic: 28% lower in March 2020, 29% lower in June 2020, and 30% lower in July 2020.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample was recruited online and was mostly middle-aged, non-Hispanic White women, so results may not apply to other groups. Physical activity was self-reported, not measured with devices, so recall and reporting errors are possible. High-risk status was based on reported conditions without severity, so it may not capture how limiting each condition was. Only some timepoints showed significant differences, and the study did not control for policy changes, weather, gym closures, or other pandemic shifts. Follow-up numbers varied, with between 322 and 512 participants completing follow-up surveys, so not all baseline participants were represented over time. The study did not analyse whether individual vaccination status or infection explained changes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that high-risk conditions caused lower physical activity throughout the pandemic. The study was observational, used self-report, and did not control for policies, weather, or facility closures.