Table 2.
Data extraction of studies measuring sedentary time and/or behaviour during COVID-19 in adults and older adults.
| Author | Population | Country | Restrictions | Sedentary Behaviour Measurement | Health Outcome Measures | Key Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meyer et al. [18] | 3052 participants No overall descriptives available |
United States | Social distancing, quarantine, and lockdown/homestay requirements | Online questionnaires—no details on specific ones used | Depressive, anxiety, loneliness, and stress symptoms Social network and positive mental health all assessed |
Those who maintained a screen time of <8 h day−1 had sig less depressive symptoms (b = 1.9, p < 0.01), loneliness (b = 0.3, p < 0.01), stress (b = 0.6, p < 0.01) and had a more positive outlook (b = 0.92, p < 0.01) Sitting time was not associated with any mental health outcome |
| Carroll et al. [36] | 351 participants 38.5 ± 5.2 years |
Canada | School closures, closure of parks, and social distancing | IPAQ Short Form | - | Adult sitting time 6.3 ± 3.0 h day−1 Screen time 2.8 ± 1.7 h day−1 |
| Zinner et al. [43] | 14 professional kayakers 22.9 ± 1.4 years |
Germany | Social distancing and Lockdown/homestay requirements | Heart rate monitoring | - | Sitting time ↑ from 623.0 ± 63.0 min day−1 to 729 ± 21 min day−1 during COVID) |
| Rezende et al. [44] | 37 post-bariatric patients 48.1 ± 4.0 years |
Brazil | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | GT3X accelerometers and subjective recall questionnaires | - | Mean sedentary time was 9.5 ± 0.5 h day−1 Participants who adhered to social distancing measures spent more time sedentary (+1.1 ± 1.0 h day−1) |
| Bivia-Roig et al. [45] | 90 pregnant women 33.1 ± 4.6 years |
Spain | Lockdown/homestay requirements | Adapted questionnaires for SB and EuroQol-5D for mental health |
Health-Related QoL | ↓ in HRQoL 50% ↑ in sitting time (4 h day−1–8 h day−1) |
| Werneck et al. [46] | 43,995 participants 43.0 ± 0.5 years |
Brazil | Social distancing and quarantine measures | No specific details on questionnaires used | Depression | ↑ TV viewing time associated with ↓ mental health |
| Castaneda-Babarro et al. [47] | 3800 participants 42.7 ± 10.4 |
Spain | Lockdown/homestay requirements | Internally validated questionnaire | - | Overall sitting time ↑ 23.8% to 480.0 ± 306.0 min day−1 Women less of an increase in sedentary time than men (↑ 25.3% and 35.0%, resp.) |
| Cheval et al. [48] | 110 participants No overall demographics available |
France and Switzerland | Limit to 1 h per day exercise Social distancing Home working |
Newly designed questionnaire | Global physical and mental health Depressive symptoms Subjective vitality |
↑ 75 min day−1 sedentary time ↑ sedentary time led to ↓ physical and mental health and subjective vitality |
| Colivicchi et al. [49] | 124 participants 71.0 ± 14.0 years |
France | Lockdown/homestay requirements | Telephone interviews | - | 41.9% reported ↓ physical activity 50% reported ↑ screen time |
| Gallé et al. [50] | 1430 participants 22.9 ± 3.5 years |
Italy | Lockdown/homestay requirements | PLifeCOVID-19 questionnaire | - | Sedentary time doubled during lockdown (240 ± 240 to 480 ± 300 min day−1) Biggest increase in specific behaviours was electronic devices (+52.4 min day−1) |
| Gornicka et al. [51] | 2381 participants No overall demographics reported |
Poland | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Canadian Health Measures Survey | - | 49.1% of participants ↑ screen time 35.9% screen time ≥8 h day−1 on weekdays—dropping to 11.5% on weekends |
| Janssen et al. [52] | 3241 participants 46.2 ± 15.3 years |
Scotland | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ on three occasions to track changes in sedentary behaviour | - | Sitting time ↑ 396.9 ± 188.0 min day−1 pre-COVID to 427.4 ± 210.9 min day−1 during COVID |
| Lopez-Bueno et al. [53] | 2741 participants 34.2 ± 13.0 years |
Spain | Social distancing, quarantine and lockdown/homestay requirements | Physical activity vital sign questionnaire | - | 2.3% of respondents reported spending >2 h day−1 using screens |
| Luciano et al. [54] | 1470 participants (394 of which assessed longitudinally) 23 ± 2 years |
Italy | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-Short Form with additional questions added | - | Sitting time per day ↑ from 8 h day−1 pre-COVID to 10 h day−1 circa-COVID |
| Mon-Lopez et al. [55] | 120 participants 39.6 ± 13.6 years |
Spain | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-Short Form | - | Screen time ↑ 403.0 ± 203.4 min day−1 to 615.6 ± 331.6 min day−1 |
| Richardson et al. [56] | 117 participants 75.0 ± 4.0 years |
United Kingdom | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-E | - | Sitting time ↑ from 426.0 ± 27.0 min day−1 pre-COVID to 490.0 ± 25.0 min day−1 during COVID |
| Rodrìguez-Larrad et al. [57] | 13,754 university students 22.8 ± 5.3 years |
Spain | Lockdown/homestay requirements | Combination of IPAQ and modified SB questions | - | Sedentary time ↑ by 52.7% from 357 ± 178 min day−1 (pre) to 545 ± 200 min day−1 (follow-up) Screen time ↑ 71.9% (217 min day−1–373 min day−1) |
| Rolland et al. [58] | 11,391 participants 47.5 ± 17.3 years |
France | Lockdown/homestay requirements | Newly developed unvalidated questionnaire | - | 64.6% of people reported ↑ screen time Predictive factors included: being female (OR: 1.31) under 29 years, being single (OR: 1.15) and being employed. |
| Romero-Blanco et al. [59] | 213 participants 20.5 ± 4.6 years |
Spain | Lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-Short Form | - | Sitting time ↑ 141.8 (95%CI: 71.9–141.8) min day−1 to 525.4 ± 194.6 min day−1 Normal/underweight participants sig. increased sitting time compared to overweight/obese participants Smokers sitting time did not sig. change during lockdown |
| Sañudo et al. [60] | 20 adults 22.6 ± 3.4 years |
Spain | Quarantine | Smart phone data and IPAQ-Short Form | - | Sitting time ↑ from 6.4 h day−1 to 9.7 h day−1 |
| Savage et al. [61] | 214 participants No overall demographics reported |
United Kingdom | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Exercise vital sign (EVS) questionnaireWarwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale Perceived Stress Scale |
Mental health | Sedentary time ↑ by 20 h week−1 during COVID restrictions Change in sedentary time was positively associated with perceived stress but not overall well-being |
| Stieger et al. [62] | 286 participants 31.0 ± 14.5 years |
Austria | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Adapted survey questions to assess total screen time | Well-Being | ↑ screen time associated with a poorer sense of well-being |
| Alomari et al. [63] | 1844 participants 33.7 ± 1.3 years |
Jordan | Social distancing and school closures | Newly developed unvalidated questionnaire | - | 72.3% of participants ↑ TV time 82.7% of participants ↑ in technology usage 81.9% of participants ↑ social media |
| Chawla et al. [64] | 231 participants No overall demographics available |
India | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ and sitting focused questions (for SB measure) | Quality of Life | 33.3% reported spending ≥6 h day−1 screen time ≥ 6 h day−1 screen time associated with ↓ psychological and social well-being |
| Hussain and Ashkanani [65] | 415 participants 38.5 ± 12.7 years |
Kuwait | Lockdown/homestay requirements | Adapted questionnaires | - | % of people watching >6 h day−1 increased by 27.5% |
| Ismail et al. [66] | 1012 participants No overall demographics available |
United Arab Emirates | Social distancing and quarantine measures | IPAQ-Short Form with a screen time question added | - | Number of people using screen time >5 h day−1 for work ↑ 15.6% >5 h day−1 screen time for leisure-time ↑ 23.7% |
| Ismail et al. [67] | 2970 participants No overall demographics available |
Multinational | Social distancing, quarantines and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-Short Form with a screen time question added | - | Number of people using screen time >5 h day−1 for work ↑ 15.6% >5 h day−1 screen time for leisure-time ↑ 22.9% |
| Qi et al. [68] | 645 participants 31.8 ± 8.6 years |
China | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-Short Form and the SF-8 to assess health related quality of life | HRQoL | Sedentary time ↑ 0.4 h day−1 to 5.8 ± 4.6 h day−1 Significant negative correlation between sedentary time and perceived physical health (r2 = −0.10, p < 0.05) |
| Qin et al. [69] | 12,107 participants No overall demographics reported |
China | Lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-Short Form and the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) | - | 261.3 ± 189.8 min day−1 screen time |
| Rahman et al. [70] | 2028 participants 25.9 ± 8.1 years |
Bangladesh | Lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-Short Form | - | 20.9% of participants >8 h day−1 in sedentary behaviours |
| Wang et al. [71] | 2289 participants 27.8 ± 12.0 years |
China | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | New questionnaire–but good detail of measures throughout | Quality of Life Score | Average sitting time 7.4 ± 3.4 h day−1 SB negatively correlated to QoL (r2 = −0.05, p < 0.01) |
| Yang et al. [72] | 10,082 participants 19.8 ± 2.3 years |
China | Social distancing and school closures | IPAQ-Short Form | - | Sedentary time ↑ from 4.0 to 4.5 h day−1 |
| Yilmaz et al. [73] | 1120 participants 33.0 ± 11.0 years |
Turkey | Social distancing and quarantine measures | New questionnaire—but good detail of measures throughout | - | Sitting time was 5.4 ± 2.6 h day−1 |
| Zheng et al. [74] | 631 participants 21.1 ± 2.9 years |
Hong Kong | Quarantine, closure of schools and work at home orders | IPAQ Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire (SBQ) |
- | Daily SB during COVID 9.4 ± 3.0 h day−1 compared to 7.8 ± 3.2 h day−1 pre-COVID |
| Barkley et al. [75] | 398 participants No overall demographics provided |
United States | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ | - | All university staff members reported ↑ sedentary time—average of +467 min week−1 Average sedentary time during COVID 481.0 ± 207.0 min day−1 |
| McDowell et al. [76] | 2303 participants No overall demographics provided |
United States | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Online questionnaire—limited details available | - | Mean sedentary time 533.0 ± 208.5 min day−1 People who began working from home, or lost their jobs, were most likely to ↑ sedentary time |
| Meyer et al. [77] | 5036 participants No overall descriptives available |
United States | Social distancing, quarantine, and lockdown/homestay requirements |
IPAQ-Short Form and adapted COVID specific survey questions | - | 42.6% (95% CI: 41.2–44.0%) of participants sat for >8 h day−1 |
| Stephan et al. [78] | 2230 participants 46.7 ± 17.8 years |
United States | Social distancing and lockdown / homestay requirements | Recall questionnaires to assess sedentary behaviour | - | Time spent sedentary ↑ by 40 min day−1 to 7.3 ± 3.8 h day−1 |
| Zajacova et al. [79] | 4319 participants No overall demographics reported |
Canada | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Canadian Perspectives Survey Series 1 (CPSS-COVID) | - | 66% increased TV viewing time |
| Browne et al. [80] | 35 participants 65.6 ± 3.8 years |
Brazil | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | GT3X accelerometer | - | Sedentary time ↑ 29.8 min day−1 to 682.6 (95%CI: 657.3–707.9) mins day−1 SB pattern more negative (more bouts ≥10 and 30 min, broken up less often) |
| Malta et al. [81] | 45,161 participants No overall demographics provided |
Brazil | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Internally validated questionnaire | - | Time spent using computers/tablets ↑ 1.5 ± 0.1 h day−1 to 5.3 ± 0.1 h day−1 Time spent watching TV ↑ 1.5 ± 0.1 h day−1 to 3.3 ± 0.1 h day−1 |
| Werneck et al. [82] | 6881 participants with depression–35,143 participants with depression No overall demographics reported |
Brazil | Social distancing and quarantine measures | IPAQ Long-Form | Depression | Depressed participants had significantly higher % engaging in >4 h day−1 TV viewing (39.6% vs. 37.4%) |
| Reyes-Olavarria et al. [83] | 700 participants No overall demographics available |
Chile | Social distancing | Recall questions to assess sedentary time | - | 54.4% of participants reported spending ≥6 h day−1 sedentary |
| Asiamah et al. [84] | 621 participants No overall demographics reported |
Ghana | Social distancing | Newly developed questionnaire which they piloted and validated | Mental health | 19.3% of participants ↑ sedentary time by ≥6 h day−1 Sedentary time negatively correlated with mental health |
| Werneck et al. [85] | 38,353 participants No overall demographics reported |
Brazil | Social distancing and quarantine measures | New questionnaire–but good detail of measures throughout | Mental Health (Loneliness, Sadness and Anxiety) | 25% spend more than 8 h day sedentary. ↑ in the clustering of SB and physical inactivity ↑ in SB was associated with all mental health measures |
ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, CI = Confidence Intervals, COVID-19 = novel coronavirus disease 2019, IPAQ = International Physical Activity Questionnaire, OR = Odds Ratio, PA = Physical Activity, SB = Sedentary Behaviour, ST = Sedentary Time, TV = Television.