Active sport participation and walking before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of Polish adults: results of the National Test for Poles’ Health

Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in daily life, including changes in physical activity levels. This study aims to examine the impact of the pandemic on sport participation and walking among Polish adults. Material and Methods The data was collected using the National...

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Main Authors: Agnieszka Szychowska, Anna Zimny-Zając, Elżbieta Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk, Tomasz Grodzicki, Tomasz Zdrojewski, Robert Gajda, Magdalena Kwaśniewska, Wojciech Drygas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine 2024-10-01
Series:International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
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Online Access:https://ijomeh.eu/Active-sport-participation-and-walking-before-and-during-COVID-19-pandemic-in-a-large,193464,0,2.html
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author Agnieszka Szychowska
Anna Zimny-Zając
Elżbieta Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk
Tomasz Grodzicki
Tomasz Zdrojewski
Robert Gajda
Magdalena Kwaśniewska
Wojciech Drygas
author_facet Agnieszka Szychowska
Anna Zimny-Zając
Elżbieta Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk
Tomasz Grodzicki
Tomasz Zdrojewski
Robert Gajda
Magdalena Kwaśniewska
Wojciech Drygas
author_sort Agnieszka Szychowska
collection DOAJ
description Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in daily life, including changes in physical activity levels. This study aims to examine the impact of the pandemic on sport participation and walking among Polish adults. Material and Methods The data was collected using the National Test for Poles’ Health , a large-scale online survey. The survey was conducted before and 1 year after the pandemic onset in Poland (March 2020 and March 2021), with >300 000 participants in each year. Results The results revealed that the percentage of respondents engaging in at least 2 h/week of sport increased by 2.3% (from 24.6% to 26.9%) (p < 0.0001) and percentage of respondents not engaging in any sport decreased by 2.5% (from 48.0% to 45.5%) (p 2 h/day on walking also increased, from 5.6% to 6.6% (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, a positive association was found between sport participation and walking time (p < 0.0001). Conclusions The findings suggest a slight improvement in physical activity levels among Polish adults during the pandemic, which may be attributed to factors such as increased time available due to remote work and the prioritization of health during the crisis. Further research is needed to explore the long-term consequences of the pandemic on physical activity and public health. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2024;37(4):468–81
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issn 1232-1087
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publisher Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine
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spelling doaj-art-e7c62536a18d462e882e6d23ee934e392025-08-20T02:37:10ZengNofer Institute of Occupational MedicineInternational Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health1232-10871896-494X2024-10-0137446848110.13075/ijomeh.1896.02430193464Active sport participation and walking before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of Polish adults: results of the National Test for Poles’ HealthAgnieszka Szychowska0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1434-9196Anna Zimny-Zając1Elżbieta Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk2Tomasz Grodzicki3Tomasz Zdrojewski4Robert Gajda5Magdalena Kwaśniewska6Wojciech Drygas7Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine)Medonet, Ringier Axel Springer Poland, Warsaw, PolandMedical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Social and Preventive Medicine)Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland (Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology)Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland (Department of Preventive Medicine and Education)Jan Dlugosz University in Częstochowa, Częstochowa, Poland (Institute of Physical Culture Sciences)Medical University of Łódź, Łódź Poland (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine)Medical University of Łódź, Łódź Poland (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine)Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in daily life, including changes in physical activity levels. This study aims to examine the impact of the pandemic on sport participation and walking among Polish adults. Material and Methods The data was collected using the National Test for Poles’ Health , a large-scale online survey. The survey was conducted before and 1 year after the pandemic onset in Poland (March 2020 and March 2021), with >300 000 participants in each year. Results The results revealed that the percentage of respondents engaging in at least 2 h/week of sport increased by 2.3% (from 24.6% to 26.9%) (p < 0.0001) and percentage of respondents not engaging in any sport decreased by 2.5% (from 48.0% to 45.5%) (p 2 h/day on walking also increased, from 5.6% to 6.6% (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, a positive association was found between sport participation and walking time (p < 0.0001). Conclusions The findings suggest a slight improvement in physical activity levels among Polish adults during the pandemic, which may be attributed to factors such as increased time available due to remote work and the prioritization of health during the crisis. Further research is needed to explore the long-term consequences of the pandemic on physical activity and public health. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2024;37(4):468–81https://ijomeh.eu/Active-sport-participation-and-walking-before-and-during-COVID-19-pandemic-in-a-large,193464,0,2.htmlwalkingexercisepandemicssportspreventive medicineenvironment and public health
spellingShingle Agnieszka Szychowska
Anna Zimny-Zając
Elżbieta Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk
Tomasz Grodzicki
Tomasz Zdrojewski
Robert Gajda
Magdalena Kwaśniewska
Wojciech Drygas
Active sport participation and walking before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of Polish adults: results of the National Test for Poles’ Health
International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
walking
exercise
pandemics
sports
preventive medicine
environment and public health
title Active sport participation and walking before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of Polish adults: results of the National Test for Poles’ Health
title_full Active sport participation and walking before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of Polish adults: results of the National Test for Poles’ Health
title_fullStr Active sport participation and walking before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of Polish adults: results of the National Test for Poles’ Health
title_full_unstemmed Active sport participation and walking before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of Polish adults: results of the National Test for Poles’ Health
title_short Active sport participation and walking before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of Polish adults: results of the National Test for Poles’ Health
title_sort active sport participation and walking before and during covid 19 pandemic in a large cohort of polish adults results of the national test for poles health
topic walking
exercise
pandemics
sports
preventive medicine
environment and public health
url https://ijomeh.eu/Active-sport-participation-and-walking-before-and-during-COVID-19-pandemic-in-a-large,193464,0,2.html
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