ArticleJournal of global health2021
The impact of COVID-19 movement restrictions on physical activity in a low-income semi-rural population in Malaysia: A longitudinal study.
Article in Journal of global health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The landscape of adult obesity in Malaysia: a mapping of evidence and contemporary narrative review.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2026Review
- Conceptualizing the effects of COVID-19 on eating and physical activity in people with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in Ecuador using the social ecological model.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Factors associated with the delivery of specific physical activity advice to patients with non-communicable diseases by primary care physicians in Klang Valley, Malaysia: a cross-sectional study.Malaysian family physician : the official journal of the Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia · 2025Article
- The Effect of a Combined Intermittent Fasting Healthy Plate Intervention on Anthropometric Outcomes and Body Composition Among Adults With Overweight and Obesity: Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Accelerometer-measured 24-hour movement behaviours over 7 days in Malaysian children and adolescents: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Developing Climate Change and Health Impact Monitoring with eHealth at the South East Asia Community Observatory and Health and Demographic Surveillance Site, Malaysia (CHIMES).Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Cardiometabolic and Anthropometric Outcomes of Intermittent Fasting Among Civil Servants With Overweight and Obesity: Study Protocol for a Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- COVID-19 Fear, Health Behaviors, and Subjective Health Status of Call Center Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary time among children and their parents in the UK before and after COVID-19 lockdowns: a natural experiment.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic prompted movement restrictions in countries worldwide, impacting on physical activity (PA), a major non-communicable disease risk factor, and thus may have unintentional long-term health implications. In semi-rural areas of low-middle-income-countries (LMICs), where occupational activity is the main source of PA, changes in PA associated with COVID-19 restrictions are unknown. We investigated the impact of Movement Control Order (MCO) restrictions in a semi-rural region of Malaysia.
methodsThe South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO) is a dynamic prospective community cohort. We contacted a random sample of 1007 adults (18+) who had previously provided PA data in 2018. We asked about PA during the MCO (March-May 2020) and at the time of interview (June 2020).
resultsDuring the MCO, PA reduced by a mean of 6.7 hours/week (95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.3, 8.0) compared to 2018, with the largest reductions among those in employment. By June, PA was 3.4 hours/week (95% CI = 2.0, 4.8) less than 2018, leaving 34% of adults currently inactive (20% in 2018). Reductions in occupational PA were not replaced with active travel or activity at home. Despite these observed reductions, most participants did not think the MCO had affected their PA.
conclusionsMovement restrictions are associated with lower PA lasting beyond the period of strict restrictions; such longer-term reductions in PA may have a detrimental impact on health. Future MCOs should encourage people to be active, but may additionally need targeted messaging for those who don't necessarily realise they are at risk. In particular, policies developed in more affluent countries may not easily translate to LMICs.
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