It is important to be aware that some of these changes may have unintended consequences for public health. It is already clear that the number of steps we take each day (an objective measure of how much we move) was markedly lower at the start of the pandemic than before. A study that examined physical activity worldwide during the two years after the start of the pandemic now also shows that we are still moving less today than before Covid-19 entered our lives.
The study involved more than 1.25 million participants from more than 200 countries, who recorded their daily step count between 2019 and 2022. In 2019, the minimum number of steps per day was 5,323. In February 2022, the number of steps recorded by participants was lower on every continent, and nowhere was the pre-pandemic minimum reached.
The relative increase in physical activity partly reflects regional differences in the timing of Covid-19 outbreaks, government measures to limit the spread of the virus and access to vaccines.