ABSTRACT
Introduction
In order to curb the abrupt advance of “Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19) and prevent the collapse of the health system, authorities around the world have opted for social distancing strategies that include closing gyms, among other measures.
Objectives
This study analyzed the effect of social distancing on resistance training practitioners’ quality of life and perception of body image in silhouette.
Methods
The volunteers were contacted through social media; data were collected between April 13 and 19, 2020, through a structured questionnaire, comprised of an Informed Consent Form, four questions about COVID-19 and restrictive measures; and twenty-nine questions designed to characterize the individuals’ habits; as well as the Short Form Health Survey 36 questionnaire. All the questionnaires were applied over the Internet, using Google Forms®. After collection, the data were tabulated and interpreted using the software program AppleNumbers®, and subsequently presented as mean, standard deviation and percentiles.
Results
The results revealed changes in perception of body image and decreased frequency and satisfaction with training. There was also an increase in sedentary behavior, food intake, and amount of sleep; and a reduction in parameters related to health and quality of life.
Conclusions
The strategy of social distancing, adopted to curb the progress of COVID-19, has harmful consequences for resistance training practitioners, such as increased calorie intake, stress and anxiety, as well as possible psychological effects. These consequences, in turn, lead to changes in self-perception of body image and in the quality of training. Level of Evidence III; Cross-sectional study of non-consecutive patients; without uniformly applied reference standard.
COVID-19; Body composition; Quarantine; Sedentary behaviors; Resistance training; Quality of life
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