Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: May 31, 2022
Date Accepted: Jan 12, 2023
Date Submitted to PubMed: Jan 12, 2023
Regional Difference in the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Domain-Specific Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Sleeping Time, and Step Count: An Online Cross-sectional Nationwide Survey and an Accelerometer-based Observational Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictive environments, such as social distancing measures. Regional differences in the changes in domain-specific PA and SB in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are not clearly understood.
Objective:
This study aimed to examine regional differences in domain-specific PA, SB, and sleeping time in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
Methods:
A total of 1,627 adults (aged 20–79 years; 1073 men and 855 women) responded to web-based surveillance. They retrospectively registered the PA data of their average day before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a web-based PA record system. Residential areas were divided into urban (Greater Tokyo area), urban-rural (cities with a population >300,000), or rural (<50,000) areas. To confirm the current results, PA and step count data were obtained using a triaxial accelerometer on people living in urban and rural areas.
Results:
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no significant differences between these three regions in time spent sleeping, staying at home, working or studying, and exercising (P>.05). In contrast, people living in urban areas had a longer duration of SB and transportation, and a shorter duration of MVPA and lying or napping time compared to people living in rural areas (P<.05). During the COVID-19 pandemic, working or studying time significantly decreased, and staying home increased in all areas. A significant decrease was observed in transportation time (−7 min/day on average) and MVPA (−30 min/day) in urban and urban-rural areas, but not in rural areas. A significant increase was observed in time spent sleeping (+26 min/day) and lying or napping (+15 min/day) in urban and urban-rural areas, but not in rural areas. PA and step counts obtained using an accelerometer also significantly decreased in urban areas, but not in rural areas.
Conclusions:
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on domain-specific PA and SB was significantly dependent on living area.
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