The impact of social distancing due to COVID-19 on adults’ and older adults’ exercise

Objective: The objective of this paper is to describe and compare the frequency, duration, and intensity of physical exercise performed by the participants, as well the types of exercise, in three different periods: 2019 (1), January and February 2020 (2), and during the social distancing period (SDP) due to the COVID-19 pandemic (3). Methods: This is a mixed-methods (retrospective/cross-sectional) study of a population of adults and older adults from a public recreation center in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The participants were invited to take a survey on Google Forms addressing the characteristics of the physical exercises performed in the periods covered in this research. The questionnaire remained available throughout October 2020. Results: The sample comprised 194 participants (63.49±14.14 years; 93.2% were women). During period 1, the most performed exercises were strength/aerobic exercises twice a week for 46 minutes to 1 hour per session at intensity 6. During period 2, walking was the most reported exercise performed three times a week for 31 to 45minutes per session at intensity 7. During period 3, strength/aerobic exercises were the most frequent, being performed three times a week for 31 to 45minutes per session at intensity 5. Conclusion: When compared to the first period, a significant decrease in in total time, intensity and duration of exercises performed by the population analyzed was observed in the other periods. Similar behavior was observed across the age ranges.