2022 年 34 巻 2 号 p. 34-38
As a result of the coronavirus disease pandemic, it is anticipated that the resulting decrease in the level of physical activity will increase the risk of falls among the frail population. Hence, it is useful to measure the changes in physical activity levels since the onset of the pandemic in this population. This study used information communication technology to obtain the daily step counts of 2248 adults aged 40-89 years between December 2019 and May 2020 to investigate their levels of physical activity. During the pandemic, when outdoor visits were restricted, step counts decreased by 3.5% and 3.7% among males aged 70-79 years and 80-89 years, respectively; and by 0.1% and 8.2% among females aged 70-79 years and 80-89 years, respectively. The frequency of outdoor visits decreased by 16.3% (4.0 days) and 17.8% (4.3 days) in males and females, respectively, in the 80-89-years. In the 70-79-years, the frequency of outdoor visits decreased by 7.1% (1.9 days) and 8.4% (2.3 days) in males and females, respectively. Restriction of outdoor visits due to the pandemic may have a detrimental effect on the amount of physical activity performed by middle-aged and older adult populations.
