SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Changes in Physical Activity Patterns Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 185 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
185 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Associations of family socioeconomic indicators and physical activity of primary school-aged children: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity and sleep among healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Changes in sleep quality and sleep disturbances in the general population from before to during the COVID-19 lockdown: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the proportion of physically active children and adults worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- A Refined Mobile Health Intervention (SMARTFAMILY2.0) to Promote Physical Activity and Healthy Eating in a Family Setting: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Telephone-Based Rehabilitation Intervention to Optimize Activity Participation After Breast Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- trips4health: a single-blinded randomised controlled trial incentivising adult public transport use for physical activity gain.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Physical activity coaching in patients with interstitial lung diseases: A randomized controlled trial.Chronic respiratory diseaseTrial
- Leisure-Time Physical Activity, Sleep, and Self-Perception of Health During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Québec.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Exploring lifestyle management in polycystic ovary syndrome through implementation frameworks.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
- Influence of Maturity Status and Gender on Body Composition and Physical Fitness Adaptations to a Mobile-App-Based Physical Activity Intervention in Adolescents.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Associations Between Pre-Quarantine Exercise and Persistent Symptoms After SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Achilles Tendinopathy: Comorbidity Profile and Incidence From the TriNetX Network.Medical research archives · 2026Article
- Physical Activity of University Students During COVID-19 Restrictions: Evidence from Poland.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- The sequelae of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal body mass index, gestational weight gain, and delivery-associated birth complications: a nationwide epidemiologic study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Occupational class differences in daily sitting time among young and early midlife public sector employees-a follow-up study.European journal of public health · 2026Article
125 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
With the outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease 19 (Covid-19) in late 2019, governments increasingly imposed containment strategies, including social distancing as well as restricted population movement, potentially having negative impacts on mental and physical health. A growing number of studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on different facets of physical activity (PA); an overview combining these (mixed) results, however, is missing. Thus, the objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate whether and to which extent PA changed from before to during the Covid-19 pandemic, taking age, gender, and measurement method into account. The literature search was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Results of the main characteristics were descriptively synthesized and analyzed in a meta-analysis quantifying effects of the pandemic on PA divided by age groups, with additional subgroup analyses of the characteristics age, gender, and measurement method being narratively synthesized. Overall, 57 studies with a total sample size of 119,094 participants (N between 10 and 60,560 subjects) from 14 countries worldwide with participants aged between four and 93 years were included. Thirty-two studies revealed a significant decline in PA, whereas only five studies found a significant increase in PA during the Covid-19 pandemic. Fourteen studies revealed mixed results. PA decreased in all age groups, independent of gender. Most self-reported and all device-based measurement methods showed a reduction in PA. However, effects were not found to be significant in all age groups. Nevertheless, the declining trend should be noted and governments should strive to enable PA within periods of pandemic restrictions, or promote alternatives such as digital training to avoid negative health consequences within the population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.