Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Exercise Habits Among US Primary Care Patients

Background: To explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected exercise habits, we hypothesized that participants' physical activity would have increased by at least 30 min/wk after the onset of the pandemic.

Methods: We distributed an anonymous survey to ambulatory patients at the Family Medicine Clinic, University of Kansas Medical Center to analyze changes in exercise habits and weight.

Results: Of the 500 adult patients surveyed, 382 were included. Results were stratified by demographics, including employment status before and during COVID-19. The median change in weekly exercise duration was 0.0 minutes, but the mean change was -25.7 minutes; total exercise duration decreased after the pandemic's onset (paired Wilcox signed rank test P < .001). More individuals reported participation in virtual group classes (6.3% before the pandemic vs 13.1% during the pandemic; McNemar's P < .001). Individuals with home exercise equipment before the pandemic were more likely to acquire more than were those who had none before (Chi square test P < .005). Overall, there is a significant trend in the direction of weight gain (Wilcox signed rank test P < .001).

Conclusions: Most participants decreased physical activity during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, expanding our understanding of how exercise habits change during stressful life events.