Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors in the Bangladeshi population during the COVID-19 pandemic: An online cross-sectional survey

Public health;Quality of life;Epidemiology;Physical activity;Health education;Physical exercise;Categories;Leisure;Quarantine;Lockdown © 2020 The Author(s) This study aimed to determine the prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic among Bangladeshi people An online survey was conducted among 2,028 people over a period of 10 days on June, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic at a time that the number of newly diagnosed cases was increasing, lockdown was still in place Survey questions included socio-demographics and an adapted version of the IPAQ-SF to assess physical activity and sedentary behaviors The prevalence rates of physical inactivity (<600 MET–minutes/week) and high sedentary behaviors (≥8 h/day) among Bangladeshi people were 37 9% and 20 9%, respectively Regression analyses revealed that young age, being a student, from a middle-class family, or upper-class family, living with nuclear family, urban living, and suffering from no chronic diseases were all associated with physical inactivity and high sedentary behaviors Moreover, physical inactivity and high sedentary behavior were strongly interrelated However, many of the univariate risk factors exhibited interdependency During the COVID-19 pandemic coinciding with lockdown measures a sizeable proportion of Bangladeshi people were physically inactive and reported sedentary behaviors ≥8 h/day Public campaigns and media-based interventions encouraging home-based physical activities should be promoted to attenuate the impact of lockdown measures during a pandemic © 2020 The Author(s)