Potential Physical Health Changes during the Covid-19 Confinement in Pakistan

Background: The Coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by the WHO in March 2020 and entire population was asked to self-isolate and live in home-confinement for several weeks to months. This has had collateral effects on many parameters of the isolatedindividuals health. A short term sedentary lifestyle is sufficient to induce insulin resistance and fat deposition which in turn increases the risk of multiple metabolic disorders. Aim: To investigate the potential physical health changes that occurred during the CoVID-19 quarantine/isolation period in Pakistan. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted during social isolation, from 27th May to 1st July, 2020. The study was initiated after approval from the institutional ethical review committee of Health Research Solutions. Stratified sampling technique was used to collect the data from the census organisation committee in Pakistan. Results: The sample of respondents in the data analysis included : N=553 (63.5% women 36.5% men). The findings explore the health impacts of several weeks of a reduction in physical activity and daily step-count combined with altered eating habits and sleep hygiene. Conclusion: The findings of the current study may contribute to a better understanding of the novel coronavirus effects on lifestyle especially physical activities and sedentary behaviour. It concludes that certain health aspects that have been explored in this research can be improved through methods developed to increase participation in activities during current and future pandemics.