Key result
Post-pandemic recovery linked to ~22 additional weekly minutes of MVPA vs. 2020.
Why the study?
The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in cardiovascular care and reductions in physical activity, but changes in exercise patterns after the pandemic period were not well known.
Did weekly aerobic and strength training activity recover between 2020 and 2022 in US adults with cardiovascular risk factors or disease?
Cross-Sectional
Did weekly aerobic and strength training activity recover between 2020 and 2022 in US adults with cardiovascular risk factors or disease?
Mean Difference: 22.1
Absolute Event Rate: 266.3% vs 244.2%
Recovery of physical activity following the COVID-19 pandemic was uneven among US adults with cardiovascular risk factors, with improvements in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity largely limited to men and younger individuals.
Observed MVPA gains post-pandemic were uneven by sex and age; leaves open equitable recovery strategies for adults with cardiovascular risk factors.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant disruptions in cardiovascular care and reductions in physical activity, but little is known about how exercise patterns changed after this period. This study assessed changes in weekly aerobic and strength training activity between 2020 and 2022 amongst adults aged 18 years or older who reported one or more cardiovascular diseases or risk factors. This study used National Health Interview Survey data from 2020 and 2022. Adjusted differences for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were calculated using a linear regression model and for strength sessions using a Poisson regression, adjusting for sex and age. Changes in these outcomes were then stratified by age and sex subgroups. The weighted study population included 182,783,008 (standard error, +/-3,334,337) adults in 2020 and 185,388,060 (SE, +/-3,285,161) adults in 2022. Between 2020 and 2022, the overall weekly MVPA increased from 244.2 (SE, +/-4.5) minutes to 266.3 (SE, +/-5.7) minutes (adjusted difference, +22.1 [SE, +/-6.92] minutes). There were no statistically significant changes in the number of strength session per week overall or among sex and age subgroups. Across sex and age subgroups, increases in weekly MVPA were entirely concentrated among males and younger adults. The recovery from pandemic era reductions in aerobic and strength exercise training was uneven amongst demographic subgroups, which aligns with concurrent persistent disruptions in cardiovascular care.
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Oddleifson et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiovascular risk factors or disease. Year 2022 (Post-pandemic period) vs. Year 2020 was evaluated on Weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (Adjusted difference +22.1). The post-pandemic period (2022) was associated with an increase in weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from 244.2 to 266.3 minutes compared to 2020 (adjusted difference, +22.1 minutes).
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