We’re f it AND fat
Irish more active than others – but 1 in 4 obese
IRISH people have outstripped other nations in exercising more during lockdown, a new international study reveals.
The study, which gauged the rate of physical activity in 11 countries across four different continents during pandemic restrictions, found more than onein-three Irish people ratcheted up their physical activity during lockdown.
And Ireland had the highest percentage of people who increased exercise in the midst of social distancing rules, followed by Singapore.
The findings come after a separate report found Ireland had the second highest rate of obesity in the EU, with more than a quarter of the adult population in the Republic classified as obese.
According to the figures, published by the European Commission, 26% of Irish adults in 2019 were obese, just behind Malta with 28%.
The international survey suggests the Irish rise in exercising during lockdown bucks the global trend. While many residents in countries such as China and Brazil reported much lower levels of exercise, over a third of Irish people increased their levels of activity with online videos and exercise regimes within their restricted travel area.
Superstar fitness guru Joe Wicks is said to be responsible for a sea change in attitudes of millions around the globe with people realising they could work out without expensive gym equipment in the comfort of their own home.
Yoga classes and workout videos shot up in popularity during stayat-home directives.
Parks, playgrounds, and gyms shut down, while sea swimming and road running also experienced a resurgence over the past 16 months.
The study found that, throughout lockdown, Bulgaria had the lowest proportion of participants who were deemed to be insufficiently active, followed by Ireland, while
Brazil and China had the highest numbers of insufficiently active populations.
In Ireland, 33% of people admitted they decreased exercise, 36% increased physical activity while a quarter left their exercise regimes unchanged.
The cross-sectional, multi-country study of nearly 12,000 adults was carried out during the summer of 2020 in Brazil, Bulgaria, China, India, Ireland, Malaysia, North Macedonia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey and the US.
University research teams in each country carried out the surveys. In Ireland, the School of Education at NUI Galway gathered data about exercise habits here during lockdown.
One-in-10 people surveyed here admitted to no physical activity at all during lockdown, 15% reported low physical activity, nearly 30% carried out moderate physical acidity and just over 45% had high physical activity.
The paper published in the International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health said existing evidence suggests regular physical activity is a cornerstone of health promotion and disease prevention as well as beneficial for helping people cope with difficult times and fending off infections.
The World Health Organization recommends that all adults aged 18 to 65 participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both, a week.
The results of the survey revealed the proportion of insufficient physical activity during lockdown ranged from 21% in Bulgaria to 25% in Ireland to 39% in the US and 58% in Brazil.
The authors found that more stringent governmental policy responses were associated with greater odds of being insufficiently active during lockdown.
The study states: ‘We observed significant differences in physical activity levels during lockdown across countries, with participants residing in countries with more stringent lockdown policies having a greater likelihood of being insufficiently active.
‘Specifically, more than half of participants residing in Brazil, Malaysia, China, and India were insufficiently active during lockdown, with three out of these four countries having the highest average governmental policy response score among the 11 countries included in this study.’
The study also found higher depression or anxiety symptom scores were associated with a greater likelihood of decreased physical acidity.
‘Given the health risks associated
NUIG gathered data on exercise habits here
‘Significant differences in physical activity levels’
with physical inactivity, our findings have important implications for the development and implementation of physical activity promotion programmes during public health emergencies when lockdown is initiated,’ said the report’s authors.
The study also found more than 70% of participants reported using physical activity to cope with the Covid-19 lockdown.
‘These findings, in line with WHO physical activity recommendations, highlight the importance of developing country-specific health communication and social marketing campaigns that promote the mental health benefits of physical activity and utility of physical activity as a coping strategy to mitigate the psychological burden and negative emotions associated with the disease outbreak and lockdown measures,’ it added.
Overall, the survey found that among those who reported engaging in physical activity during lockdown, more than 60% worked out at home.
Nearly 40% exercised exclusively indoors, and more than 60% did so by themselves, while many reported using online physical activity programs.