Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on exercise habits and overweight in Japan: a nation-wide panel survey

IntroductionA catastrophic disaster may cause distant health impacts like immobility and obesity. This research aims at analysing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on exercise habit and overweight in the Japanese population. MethodsNation-wide online questionnaires were conducted five times from October 2020 to October 2021. The change in exercise habit, body mass index (BMI) and status of overweight (BMI>25kg/m2) were compared between the first questionnaire and later ones. Risk factors of losing exercise habit or developing overweight were analysed using multiple regression. ResultsData was obtained from 16,642 participants. In the early phase of the pandemic, people with high income and elderly females showed higher risk of decreased exercise days. Proportion of overweight was increased from 22.2% to 26.6% in males and from 9.3% to 10.8% in females. Middle aged males, elderly females, males who experienced SARS-CoV-2 infection were at higher risks of developing overweight. ConclusionOur findings suggest that risks of immobility and overweight are homogeneous. Continuous intervention for elderly females and long-term intervention for males who were infected might be especially needed. As most disasters can cause similar social transformation, research and evaluation of immobility and obesity should be addressed in future disaster preparation/ mitigation plans.