The SARS-CoV2 virus pandemic, as one of the consequences, has a reduced physical activity of the elderly, both those who have had contact with the virus and those who have not.
A large Canadian study [1] that examined the impact of the pandemic on the level of physical activity among the population over 50 years old (where out of 51,338 respondents, 21,491 of them were over 65 years old) showed that almost half of the respondents over 65 years old who were in contact with the virus reported a significant deterioration in their mobility, while this was the case with 25% of those who were not infected.
Given that the study was conducted over a period of 9 months, changes in mobility cannot be attributed to aging, but were primarily caused by imposed restrictions on the movement of the elderly, their fear and the consequences of the disease itself. Similar results were shown by a study conducted by the University of Michigan [2], in which 2,006 respondents aged 50 to 81 participated.
36.9% of them reported a decrease in physical activity during the pandemic, 35.1% stated that they “spend less time on their feet”, 37.1% stated that the level of maintaining social contacts decreased during the pandemic, while as many as 45.9 % stated that they feel that they are socially isolated.
Bearing in mind the numerous negative consequences of reducing the physical activity of the elderly, it is necessary to implement activities aimed at increasing the mobility of the elderly and reducing their social isolation.