COVID-Inconfidentes: how did COVID-19 and work from home influence the prevalence of leisure-time physical inactivity? An analysis of before and during the pandemic

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic changes to the lives of the global population. The restrictions imposed by government agencies impacted the daily lives of citizens, influencing several health behaviors, such as physical activity (PA). Thus, the present study aimed to assess the prevalence of physical inactivity (PI) and its associated factors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A population-based household seroepidemiological survey was conducted in two Brazilian municipalities located in the state of Minas Gerais, in which 1750 volunteers were interviewed between October and December 2020. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire in an electronic format. The moments considered for the PI analysis were M0 (before the pandemic), M1 (from March to July 2020), and M2 (from October to December 2020). Descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to examine the factors associated with PI before (M0) and during the pandemic (M1 and M2). RESULTS: The prevalence of PI was higher in the first months of the pandemic (M1) (67.3%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 62.4–71.9) than in the months from October to December 2020 (M2) (58.7%; 95% CI: 52.8–64.3); however, at both times (M1 and M2), PI was more prevalent than in the period before the pandemic started (M0) (39.7%; 95% CI: 35.6–43.8). Individuals who were overweight, obese, and had low educational levels were more likely to be physically inactive. At both M1 and M2, individuals who worked at a work from home were less likely to have PI. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively influenced PA, substantially increasing the prevalence of PI. The determinants associated with PI were education, body mass index, and work from home.