fitness beats pandemic essay 150 words

Fitness Beats Pandemic Essay

500+ words essay on fitness beats pandemic.

The world after COVID-19 has changed drastically. Nobody knows what our future will be like. The world went into chaos mode when we saw the Coronavirus outbreak. Millions of lives got affected because of it. Moreover, it also created a phobia amongst us. Everyone is constantly looking for something that can help them beat this pandemic. Therefore, this fitness beats pandemic essay will tell you how staying fit can save your life.

Fitness Beats Pandemic Essay- How It Happens?

The coronavirus pandemic has become one of the most major health crises of our times. It is no less than a challenge that keeps disrupting our lives daily. With the rise of cases, we need to do our part to help beat the pandemic.

The two common things we must do are stay at home and stay fit. When we do this, we can help in reducing the risk of contracting this deadly disease. Further, it can also help in avoiding severe complications.

As this pandemic has increased our work pressure , people are finding it hard to handle their professional and personal lives. Therefore, it is not easy to find peace. Similarly, finding time to work out has also become very tough.

But, physical activity is essential. We can do these activities by also following the stay at home guidelines. As people are still avoiding gyms and fitness centres, one must take out time to incorporate workout time into their schedules.

Most importantly, staying fit does not only refer to exercising and staying physically healthy. It also means having a strong mental balance. We need to be fit mentally as well as spiritually.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

How to Achieve Fitness

We must do our best to achieve fitness in various ways. Firstly, we must do yoga or meditation exercises to get a healthy state of mind. It is also essential to get adequate amounts of sunlight and fresh air.

Similarly, we must take a balanced diet. Also, intake of water must be done properly in generous amounts. It is also vital to avoid foods that are rich in sugar, fats , salt, etc. When we meditate mindfully, we can achieve reduced blood pressure and a better cognitive system.

Similarly, when your immune function is improved, you can lower your stress hormones. We must also eat fresh and unprocessed foods to keep our bodies fit. Make sure your body is getting proper amounts of vitamins, minerals, proteins, antioxidants and more.

Similarly, yoga and meditation help in preventing a lot of diseases. As the COVID-19 virus impacts our respiratory system badly, we must do breathing exercises to enhance our respiratory system’s condition. Most importantly, stay away from stressful and anxious situations.

To conclude the fitness beats pandemic essay, we must do our best to stay fit and also follow the guidelines given by our government. It includes keeping our hands clean, making use of masks and sanitisers and maintaining social distancing. Along with this, we must also do our best to stay fit physically, mentally and spiritually to beat the pandemic.

FAQ of Fitness Beats Pandemic Essay

Question 1: How can fitness beat pandemic?

Answer 1: Fitness can help in beating the pandemic because when we all build ourselves strongly, we can beat the coronavirus. It includes not only being strong physically but also mentally. It will help us in overcoming anything and everything.

Question 2: What can we do to achieve fitness?

Answer 2: Fitness can be achieved by having a balanced diet. We must also work out daily even for a little while. Similarly, meditating can help with our mental and spiritual well-being. Therefore, we must try it all to stay fit.

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• Published: 18 September 2023

The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical fitness in young adults: a historical control study

• Jeffrey W. Ripley-Gonzalez 1 ,
• Nanjiang Zhou 1 ,
• Tanghao Zeng 1 ,
• Baiyang You 1 , 2 ,
• Wenliang Zhang 1 , 2 ,
• Jie Liu 3 ,
• Yuchen Dong 4 ,
• Ying Guo 3 ,
• Yaoshan Dun 1 , 2 , 5 &
• Suixin Liu 1 , 2  

Scientific Reports volume  13 , Article number:  15430 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• Public health

The strength of evidence regarding long-term changes to fitness resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns is deficient. This two-site retrospective study aimed to investigate the long-term changes in physical fitness among young adults a year after the onset of the pandemic using a robust historical control. University freshmen who underwent physical fitness tests in 2019 and completed a follow-up in 2020 (study group) were included. The primary focus was to compare the current cohort with a historical control group who completed the same tests a year prior (2018). A total of 5376 individuals were recruited, of which 2239 were in the study group. Compared with the control, the study group exhibited a decrease in anaerobic fitness, with an overall difference of −0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], [−1.33 to −0.36]); declines in aerobic fitness, with a difference of −2.25 [−3.92 to −0.57] for males and −4.28 [−4.97 to −3.59] for females; a reduced explosive fitness (−2.68 [−3.24 to −2.12]); and a decreased upper-body strength in females (−1.52 [−2.16 to −0.87]). The fitness of young adults has been considerably compromised by COVID-19 lockdowns, highlighting the importance of promoting physical activity to prevent long-term health implications.

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Introduction

Physical fitness plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health and well-being and is associated with a range of health benefits, including a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders and lower overall mortality rates 1 , 2 . In view of these, multinational guidelines recommend regular physical activity and exercise across all age groups, while also highlighting the need to limit sedentary behaviours 3 .

However, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the accompanying measures implemented to mitigate its spread have posed significant challenges in maintaining optimal physical fitness levels, leading to increased sedentary behaviour and decreased exercise participation among many individuals 4 , 5 . Multiple published research have reported on the wide-ranging effects of lockdowns. For example, our previous research has documented acute self-reported weight gain, reduced overall physical activity and exercise, and increased sedentary behaviour, which aligns with findings reported elsewhere during the pandemic 6 , 7 . Additionally, our research has revealed an increase in psychological issues associated with COVID-19 mitigation measures affecting young individuals 8 . It is worth noting that these effects might have been influenced by baseline fitness levels 9 . However, there is a limited body of research exploring the long-term effects of the pandemic on physical fitness. While some studies have investigated the effects of COVID-19 on physical fitness in children 10 , research focusing on standardised fitness testing in adult populations is scarcer due to insufficient data. Moreover, most studies that have examined this topic have relied on subjective fitness questionnaires to assess acute changes 11 , 12 . Although qualitative research has provided valuable insights into how individuals’ behaviours might be affected by the pandemic and lockdowns, it falls short of providing an accurate representation of fitness changes compared with objective measurements. Recent research by Yu et al. suggested that changes in physical activity over time could be associated with decreased fitness after the pandemic, however, this study only offers a snapshot in time as it lacks baseline data from before the pandemic 13 . Lastly, a prevalent issue in the existing evidence is the lack of control groups in studies involving young adult populations, significantly limiting the strength of the evidence 14 , 15 .

The current study aimed to investigate the long-term changes in objectively measured fitness parameters among young adults, a year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to address this gap in the literature. A robust historical control group was used to evaluate these changes, allowing us to make inferences regarding the effect of the COVID-19 lockdowns by comparing the study group to a similar group of individuals who were unaffected by COVID-19 lockdowns. This novel approach will allow for a comparison between groups which can contribute to a more complete understanding of the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and aid in developing effective measures against future epidemics.

Materials and methods

Study design and participants.

From December 2019 to January 2021, data collection was conducted at two centres (in Central and Central-East China, respectively) to assess the longitudinal changes in the physical fitness of university-aged students. Participants were recruited from the Chinese Medical College, Hunan, China, and the Medical College of Jinhua Polytechnic, Zhejiang, China. These institutions conducted the inaugural Chinese National Student Physical Fitness Standard (CNSPFS) battery between 1 December 2019 and 20 January 2020 before the implementation of national lockdowns. After a year, these participants were followed up, and the CNSPFS battery was administered again between 1 December 2020 and 20 January 2021. At the time of enrolment all participants involved in this study had begun their first year of higher education, with a mean age of 18 (standard deviation (SD): 1). Participants were excluded from physical fitness tests if they had a pre-existing medical condition which would impede their ability to perform exercise safely.

Baseline data was retrieved from the CNSPFS system, and data from both time points were linked using each participant's university student identity number. This research was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (approval no. 202005126). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants, and the study was performed in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. This manuscript follows the reporting guidelines set by STROBE.

Historical control

A group was required for comparison to fully understand the effect of the pandemic on objective measurements of fitness and weight changes. The historical control group was established by obtaining the physical fitness records of students who had enrolled in the same two universities in 2018 and had completed the CNSPFS battery a year prior to the study. The first visit of the historical control group was between 1 December 2018 and 20 January 2019, while their second visit was between 1 December 2019 and 20 January 2020, before the implementation of nationwide lockdowns. This control group was selected to provide a baseline for comparing the findings with current study participants.

The primary outcomes were measured in an open-air track field, which included changes in several performance and fitness scores. These scores were derived from various tests, including a 50-m sprint 16 , an 800-m run for females and a 1000-m run for males 17 , a standing long jump 18 , timed 1-min sit-ups for females and pull-ups for males 19 , a sit and reach test, and vital lung capacity measurement 20 . These tests assessed various aspects of fitness, such as anaerobic capacity, aerobic endurance, explosive power, muscular strength, flexibility, and pulmonary function.

The CNSPFS was conducted according to the standard operating procedures, under the supervision of trained physical education teachers. The assessment commenced with the collection of anthropometric data, including height measured using a portable stadiometer and weight measured using an electronic weight scale. Body mass index (BMI) was then calculated for each participant by dividing their weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. All physical fitness tests were conducted in the track-fields within the grounds of each respective university. Throughout the COVID-19 period, all students had to take bi-weekly nucleic acid testing as part of the “zero-COVID” governmental policy. During the testing period, there were no COVID-19 infections amongst the participant populations or testing staff of either university. As a result all tests were conducted as scheduled.

Secondary outcomes included the frequency of aerobic and strength training (prior to the lockdown, during the lockdown, and at the 2-year follow-up (1 year after the second CNSPFS visit) in the study group. Daily sedentary time and computer usage were recorded at three time points: during the first CNSPFS assessment, during the lockdown and a year after the second CNSPFS assessment).

Standardisation of the CNSPFS battery

Physical fitness measurements were obtained by administering the CNSPFS battery and the scores were calculated using a nationally standardised scoring system that adjusted each fitness indicator score for age- and sex-specific percentages. The scores were categorised into four groups: low fitness (< 60), moderate fitness (60–79), high fitness (80–89), and excellent fitness (≥ 90). An intraclass correlation coefficient of > 0.90 was achieved to ensure consistency between assessments. The details regarding performing CNSPFS have been described previously 21 , 22 .

Sample size

Based on previous research 23 that reported a mean difference between groups in the change of total fitness score of 2.84, with a standard deviation of 9.3, we conducted a sample size calculation via a two-sided two-sample t-test with an alpha level at 0.05 and a power of 0.90. PASS version 15.0.5 software (Utah, USA) was used to calculate. The estimated required sample size was 456 participants, with 228 per group. Anticipating a 20% failure to attain complete physical testing data, a minimum of 570 participants were required, which was considerably less than was finally attainable for this research study.

Statistical analysis

The normality of continuous variables was assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk test. Normally distributed continuous variables are presented as means ± SD, while non-normally distributed variables are presented as the median (interquartile range). Categorical variables are presented as numbers (percentages). Baseline data were compared using independent samples t -test and the chi-square test. For the primary outcomes and secondary outcomes analyses, linear mixed models were pre-specified. The models adjusted for schools, age, sex, location, regional disposable income, and the value of the outcome and at baseline differences. Subgroup analyses were conducted for male and female, urban and rural subgroups to examine the consistency of the primary outcome across different areas. Statistical significance was set at p  < 0.05. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0 (IBM Inc., Chicago, USA).

Ethical approval

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (approval no. 202005126).

Informed consent

Written informed consent was documented during the baseline, and digital informed consent was given upon initiating the survey.

Demographics

A total of 5376 individuals were included in the analysis, with 2239 participants in the study group and 3137 participants in the control group, recruited from two universities. The study flow chart is presented in Fig.  1 . The baseline demographics of both groups are presented in Table 1 . Female participants constituted a higher proportion of the population. In the study group, 61.5% of the participants resided in urban areas, while 38.5% resided in rural communities. In the historical control group, these percentages were 64.5% and 35.5%, respectively. Age in both groups was a median of 18 years (interquartile range (IQR) of 18–19), with a mean age of 18 years (SD:1) in both groups ( P  = 0.45 ) . No differences were observed in baseline height, weight, or socioeconomic conditions between the two groups. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed at baseline for BMI, with the Study group mean BMI of 20.6 kg/m 2 (SD: 3) and Historical Control of 20.7 kg/m 2 (SD: 3), median (IQR) of 20.0 kg/m 2 (18.6–22) in the study group and 20.1 kg/m 2 (18.7–22) in the historical control. However, significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of baseline sit-and-reach tests and 1-min sit-ups.

Flow chart showing the study processes of both groups. Chinese National Student Physical Fitness Standard (CNSPFS).

Change in fitness

The changes in fitness measures between the study group and the historical control group are presented in Table 2 , Figs.  2 and 3 . Figure S1 illustrates the changes in fitness as proportions of the population. The statistical results remained consistent across subgroup analysis (Supplementary Table S1 ).

Changes in physical fitness performance within each group. BMI, body mass index. (*) used to show the confidence interval. G, Female participants completed an 800 m run, and Male participants completed a 1000 m run. H, Female participants’ measure of strength was the maximum number of sit-ups completed in a single minute, for male participants this was the maximum number of pull-ups completed in one minute.

Changes in physical fitness between study and historical groups. (*) used to show the confidence interval. Fitness was weighed according to the standardised system that weighted each fitness indicator score by age- and sex-specific percentage. Scores were grouped into: low fitness (below 60), moderate fitness (60 to 79), high fitness (80 to 89), and excellent fitness (90 and above). The consistency between assessments was ensured through an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) that was greater than 0.90. The graph shows mean changes in scores: ( A ) Total composite score; ( B ) Aerobic score (males); ( C ) Aerobic score (females); ( D ) Anaerobic score; ( E ) Explosive fitness (score); ( F ) Upper-body strength (male); ( G ) Upper-body strength (female); ( H ) Flexibility.

Aerobic and anaerobic fitness

In the follow-up period compared to the baseline, the study group experienced a 0.5% decrease in the 50-m run performance. Notably, this decrease was more pronounced in men, with a 0.8% decline, compared to women who showed a 0.4% decrease (Table 2 ). In contrast, over the same period, the mean time for the 50-m run decreased by 0.09 s for males and 0.05 s for females. The difference in the changes between the two groups was statistically significant 0.07 (95% CI: 0.04 to 0.10) ( P  < 0.001). These results indicate a decline in anaerobic fitness in the study group, while the historical control group exhibited an increase in anaerobic fitness (Fig.  3 ).

The decline in aerobic fitness, as indicated by changes in middle-distance run performance, was more prominent in the study group. In the study group, the mean time for the 1000-m run increased by 2.41 s, whereas in the control group, it decreased by 3.88 s, resulting in a significant between-group difference of 4.43 s (95% CI: 1.4 to 7.46) ( P  = 0.004). This suggests a decrease in aerobic fitness of approximately 2% in males and 4.7% in females in the study group (Fig.  3 ). Similarly, for the 800-m run, the mean time decreased by 1.95 s in the control group, while it increased by 4.22 s in the study group, resulting in a significant between-group difference of 7.36 s (95% CI: 6.33 to 8.38) ( P  < 0.001). Furthermore, the study group exhibited a greater decline in aerobic fitness as a proportion of the population compared with the control group, which showed a greater increase in aerobic fitness (Fig. S1 ).

Muscular strength

Contrary to the effects on aerobic and anaerobic fitness, the impact of the lockdown on upper body strength was not consistent. Among male participants, the study group demonstrated a slight improvement in the number of achieved 1-min pull-ups, with a positive difference between baseline and follow-up indicating a performance increase of 3.33%. In contrast, the control group exhibited a negative change of 24.29%. The between-group difference was significant, with a value of 2.16 (95% CI: 1.58 to 2.74) ( P  < 0.001). For female participants, the study group showed an increase in the number of completed sit-ups in 1 min, resulting in a change of 5.65%. However, this increase was smaller than that observed in the control group (11.67%). When examining fitness change as population proportions (Fig. S1 ), it was evident that the study group experienced a lower decrease in fitness levels compared with the control group, although there was a greater increase in this fitness measure as a proportion in the control group.

Explosive fitness

Regarding explosive fitness, the standing long jump test revealed a significant difference between the study and control groups. Participants in the study group had a mean jump distance of 176.51 cm (SD: 25.05), which increased by 0.71 cm (0.4%) after a year. In contrast, the control group had a mean jump distance of 175.98 cm (SD: 25.8), which increased by 4.82 cm (2.7%). The difference between the two groups was −3.43 (95% CI: −4.07 to −2.79), indicating that the control group experienced a greater increase in jump distance ( P  < 0.001). This trend was consistent for females and males (Table 2 ) and was reflected by a greater increase in explosive fitness in the control group (Fig.  3 ).

Flexibility and vital capacity

In the sit-and-reach test, a greater improvement was observed in the study group, indicating enhanced flexibility. The mean change in the study group was 2.8 (SD: 5.05), corresponding to a 17% increase, while the control group showed a mean change of 1.36 (SD: 4.75) and an increase of 8.5%. The between-group difference was statistically significant, with a mean difference of 1.5 cm (95% CI: 1.26 to 1.73, P  < 0.001). These results were consistent among females and males. Regarding vital capacity, no significant difference was observed between the groups, although there was a slight tendency towards a better performance in the study group.

Weight and BMI

Regarding changes in BMI, a statistically significant difference was observed between the study group and the control group, with a between-group difference of 0.24 kg/m 2 (95% CI: 0.17 to 0.32, P  < 0.001). The observation group exhibited a small overall decrease in BMI (0.1%), while the historical control showed a more significant decrease (1.8%). Among females, the study group and the historical control group experienced a decrease in BMI (0.5% and 1.6%, respectively). In contrast, male participants in both groups showed an increase in weight, with the study group exhibiting a greater increase compared with the control group (1.8% increase and 0.1% increase, respectively).

Sedentary time and exercise habits

In Fig. S2 A, the mean sedentary time (in h/day) for all participants in the study group are presented for three periods. A significant increase was observed in both of these measures from the first assessment (prior to lockdown) to the second assessment (during the lockdown), as well as an increase from the second assessment to the third assessment (follow-up). In Fig. S2 B and C, the changes in habitual exercise at two time points (before lockdown and follow-up) are illustrated. A decrease in exercise frequency, as well as in aerobic and strength training, was observed between the two time points.

Our study presents a novel approach to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical fitness. A historical control study design was used to investigate the longitudinal changes in fitness in a large population of young adults, a year after the onset of the pandemic. By comparing these changes to robust historical controls, strong evidence was provided regarding the effects of COVID-19 on the fitness levels of young adults. Our findings indicate that the pandemic-induced lockdown significantly undermined several dimensions of physical fitness, including aerobic and anaerobic capacities, explosive power, and weight, a year after the lockdowns. These changes have important implications for health, as they are associated with an increased risk of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as heightened premature mortality risk 24 , 25 .

Preliminary studies on COVID-19 mitigation strategies have highlighted immediate effects on weight and psychological health. Subsequent studies have suggested that increased sedentary behaviour and reduced physical activity could result in a population-wide fitness decline 26 , 27 . For instance, research has demonstrated that confinement measures and the suspension of physical education classes could result in decreased cardiorespiratory fitness among adolescent elite football players, with oxygen consumption decreasing by up to 9%. Similarly, in children, these measures have been associated with significant weight gain and reduced cardiorespiratory fitness 10 , 28 . The closure of fitness facilities and limitations on outdoor activities are significant barriers to maintaining physical activity levels, particularly for adults who might have fewer resources and opportunities to engage in physical activity. These findings are concerning not only for younger populations experiencing diminished fitness but also for adults and older adults who might lack structured exercise routines or face greater challenges in staying physically active.

Building upon existing evidence, our study confirms notable discrepancies in weight and fitness trajectories between lockdown-affected and unaffected groups. Among males subjected to lockdown, a pronounced average weight gain of 1.3 kg was observed, despite increased activity post-lockdown, compared with a 0.7 kg gain in the control group. Although female participants from both groups experienced a decrease in annual weight, the decline was more significant among those unaffected by lockdowns. Moreover, significant declines in aerobic and anaerobic fitness were documented, along with lower body explosive fitness, 8 months after the relaxation of pandemic restrictions. These findings contrast with the improvements observed in these fitness measures among the historical control group during the same period. While adults might recover from temporary shifts in BMI and fitness as a result of resuming regular physical movement and dietary habits, this might not apply to a substantial subset of the population, particularly those lacking regular or mandatory exercise regimens.

The decline in fitness observed in our study is potentially due to a combination of disrupted physical activity routines, altered dietary habits, and pandemic-induced psychological stressors. Measures implemented to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 resulted in a significant disruption of daily life, including the closure of recreational and exercise facilities, which in turn led to reduced physical activity levels and increased sedentary behaviour 13 , 29 . This effect was particularly pronounced in areas with higher deprivation levels and among individuals who were previously inactive 6 , 30 . Concurrently, the pandemic-related stress and anxiety further exacerbated sedentary behaviours among young adults 31 . Interestingly, our study revealed a slight increase in lower body explosive fitness, as assessed by the standing long jump, within the study group affected by the pandemic. However, this increase was significantly lower than the standard reached by the control, aligning with trends observed in other studies, albeit with smaller and younger populations. Prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour, such as sitting, significantly reduce energy expenditure and muscle activation 32 , potentially leading to disuse atrophy 33 characterised by a significant loss of skeletal muscle mass due to inactivity. These cumulative effects of increased inactivity and sedentary behaviour likely contribute to the poorer performance of the study group in fitness tests requiring lower body muscle activation 34 , such as the 100-m sprint, middle-distance run, and long jump.

Post-lockdown, upper-body strength was resilient, with male participants, in particular, showing improvements that surpassed the historical control group. Female participants also experienced some improvement, albeit lesser than the control group. This indicates a lockdown-induced shift towards resistance and body-weight exercises, particularly among males, possibly influenced by limited mobility and exercise preferences favouring intense strength training 35 . Research conducted in the United Kingdom indicated persistently low physical activity levels post-lockdown 36 . Our study expands on this finding by demonstrating that while sedentary behaviours returned to pre-pandemic levels, exercise habits remained low, which likely contributed to enduringly low cardiorespiratory and anaerobic fitness levels 8 months post-lockdown.

The findings of our study, focusing on young adults, extend to older populations with even greater significance. Older adults typically exhibit lower baseline fitness levels, and their ability to regain physical capacity after sedentary periods is often slower and more challenging due to age-related physiological changes and comorbidities 37 . Moreover, the detrimental effects of sedentary behaviour, such as insulin resistance and muscle atrophy, might manifest more acutely and rapidly in older adults, increasing their susceptibility to chronic conditions and functional decline 38 . Therefore, the potential for increased weight gain and decreased physical fitness during prolonged periods of inactivity, as indicated by our findings, could further exacerbate health risks and impede functional recovery in this demographic.

Limitations

This study has limitations. First, despite our analysis suggesting a connection between reduced physical activity during lockdown and fitness and weight changes, further research is necessary to compare these findings with individuals who were unaffected by the lockdown. Second, it is important to note that our study focused on a large group of Han Chinese young adults, which might limit the generalisability of our findings to other populations. Lastly, while our historical control group from the same two universities shared similar age and weight baseline characteristics, some inherent differences between the two groups might have persisted. Furthermore, while we accounted for schools, age, sex, location, regional disposable income, and the value of the outcome and at baseline difference, it is important to note that the retrospective observational study design has inherent limitations, which means that complete elimination of resulting bias may not be feasible. However, considering the available options, this historical control group provided the most comparable basis for our analysis.

This study provides relatively strong evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic and its mitigation measures significantly affected various aspects of physical fitness in young adults. These effects persist even a year after the implementation of lockdowns. The findings underscore the importance of continued efforts to promote physical activity during and beyond pandemics to prevent long-term detrimental consequences on health.

Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article [and its supplementary information files].

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This work is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82172549 to S.L., and 82272613 and 82002403 to Ys.D.), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2021JJ70073 to S.L. and 2021JJ40981 to Ys.D.).

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Ripley-Gonzalez, J.W., Zhou, N., Zeng, T. et al. The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical fitness in young adults: a historical control study. Sci Rep 13 , 15430 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42710-0

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Opinion: The Importance of Fitness in a Post-Pandemic World

By Richard H Carmona • May 17, 2021

The past year has taken a toll on the physical and mental health of millions of Californians. While we were rightly focused on slowing the spread of the pandemic, widespread shutdowns brought about a more sedentary, inactive lifestyle, which has led to increased weight gain and worsened mental health for many. As Californians look ahead and as more people receive the vaccine, it is time for policymakers and citizens to start reprioritizing physical activity and placing much needed attention on the health equity crisis in our state.

There is a direct correlation between obesity and developing serious COVID-19 complications and chronic diseases. In fact, about 78 percent of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator, or died from COVID-19 have been overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . And once the scourge of COVID has passed, the leading causes of death will continue to be heart disease and cancers — all exacerbated by physical inactivity and overweight. 

This correlation is heightened by the fact that communities that were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 were also already disproportionately impacted by inactivity and obesity. Data has shown that Black and Latinx communities suffered higher rates of COVID-19. Meanwhile in California, physical inactivity is the highest among Black and Latinx residents, at 23 percent and 27 percent, respectively. 

The obesity rate in California is 25.8 percent, but that number jumps to 33 percent for Latinx residents, and 40 percent for Black residents. That figure is expected to be higher now as the pandemic has  led to a 32 percent reduction in physical activity  among individuals who were physically active. 

These correlations can be attributed to the fact that many of our Black and brown communities exist in food deserts, experience a shortage of healthy food options and often have lower access to green space and safe outdoor spaces in which to recreate, among other reasons.

Two recent studies show just how acute the COVID weight gain issue has become. A study in the Journal of American Medicine reported that during the first five months of closures, the average American gained nearly two pounds per month. And an even more concerning report by the American Physiological Association indicated that during the lockdown, 50 percent of millennials had gained weight during the lockdown, averaging an astounding 41 pounds.

Separately, research from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed about four in 10 adults in the United States have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder throughout the pandemic. That’s up from one in 10 during the first six months of 2019. Kaiser also found that many adults have suffered negative impacts on their mental health and well-being —  including difficulty sleeping (36 percent) or eating (32 percent), increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12 percent) and worsening chronic conditions (12 percent) — due to worry and stress over the coronavirus.

Fortunately, a healthy weight can be achieved through a regimen of healthful eating and physical activity. However, even before the pandemic, only about 23 percent of adults met or exceeded the federal physical activity guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. Even if an individual can’t meet the full recommended amount of exercise, researchers have found that as little as 20 minutes of physical activity a day can have anti-inflammatory effects that boost your immune system . And the pandemic has given us a new understanding of the value of maintaining a strong immune system.

Fitness centers are committed to being part of the solution. They continue to work closely with local, state and federal public health officials as they reopen — implementing capacity restrictions and proven safety protocols like physical distancing, increased sanitization and air filtration. These policies are key to ensuring Californians have access to exercise while also mitigating the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

I encourage policymakers to go beyond the current conversation and continue to discuss the underlying reasons for the health disparities in our state. We must pursue health equity by identifying solutions for food deserts, finding ways to ensure healthy food options regardless of zip code and, importantly, ensuring that every community has adequate and safe spaces for exercise, whether that be in a gym, park or on a walking trail. 

Whether you are continuing your personal fitness routine or heading back to your fitness center, the important thing is to get your body active. Staying safe in a post-pandemic world means maintaining a healthy immune system, becoming physically active, eating well and maintaining a healthy body weight.  These lifestyle changes will allow you to live longer and happier!

Dr. Richard Carmona served as the 17th U.S. Surgeon General and currently sits on the Chancellor’s Board of Advisors at UC Davis. 

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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Physical fitness and exercise during the covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative enquiry.

• 1 Freelance Researcher and Activist, Jaipur, India
• 2 Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
• 3 Amity Institute of Behavioural and Allied Sciences (AIBAS), Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought this fast-moving world to a standstill. The impact of this pandemic is massive, and the only strategy to curb the rapid spread of the disease is to follow social distancing. The imposed lockdown, resulting in the closure of business activities, public places, fitness and activity centers, and overall social life, has hampered many aspects of the lives of people including routine fitness activities of fitness freaks, which has resulted in various psychological issues and serious fitness and health concerns. In the present paper, the authors aimed at understanding the unique experiences of fitness freaks during the period of lockdown due to COVID-19. The paper also intended to explore the ways in which alternate exercises and fitness activities at home helped them deal with psychological issues and physical health consequences. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 22 adults who were regularly working out in the gym before the COVID-19 pandemic but stayed at home during the nationwide lockdown. The analysis revealed that during the initial phase of lockdown, the participants had a negative situational perception and a lack of motivation for fitness exercise. They also showed psychological health concerns and overdependence on social media in spending their free time. However, there was a gradual increase in positive self-perception and motivation to overcome their dependence on gym and fitness equipment and to continue fitness exercises at home. Participants also tended to play music as a tool while working out. The regular fitness workout at home during the lockdown greatly helped them to overcome psychological issues and fitness concerns.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic is a massive global health crisis ( Bavel et al., 2020 ) and rapidly spreading pandemic ( Bentlage et al., 2020 ) of recent times. As compared to the earlier pandemics the world has witnessed, the current COVID-19 pandemic is now on the top of the list in terms of worldwide coverage. This is the first time the whole world is affected simultaneously and struck strongly in a very short span of time. Initially, the death rate due to COVID-19 was around 2%, which has now increased to around 4–6% ( World Health Organization [WHO], 2020 ). The statistics does not look so severe, but the total number of cases and the rate at which these cases are increasing day by day make the situation alarming. Exponential growth in COVID-19 cases has led to the isolation of billions of people and worldwide lockdown. COVID-19 has affected the life of nearly each person around the world. The difference between personal or professional lives has narrowed due to work-from-home instructions, and people’s lives are revolving around these two due to the lockdown. People have also been pondering over a vital concern at home, i.e., the importance of their health and fitness.

Although imposing lockdown or quarantine for the population has been one of the widely used measures across the world to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19, it has severe consequences too. Recent multinational investigations have shown the negative effect of COVID-19 restrictions on social participation, life satisfaction ( Ammar et al., 2020b ), mental well-being, psychosocial and emotional disorders as well as on sleep quality ( Xiao et al., 2020 ), and employment status ( Ammar et al., 2020d ). Announcement of a sudden lockdown of all services and activities, except few essential services, by the authorities has resulted in a radical change in the lifestyle of affected people ( Jiménez-Pavón et al., 2020 ) and has severely impaired their mental health, which has been manifested in the form of increased anxiety, stress, and depression ( Chtourou et al., 2020 ). The sudden changes in people’s lifestyle include, but are not limited to, physical activities and exercise. Ammar et al. (2020a) have reported that COVID-19 home confinement has resulted in a decrease in all levels of physical activities and about 28% increase in daily sitting time as well as increase in unhealthy pattern of food consumption. Similar results are also reported by other researchers ( Ammar et al., 2020c ; de Oliveira Neto et al., 2020 ) as well. Although these abrupt changes have influenced every individual, many people who were regularly following their fitness activities in gyms, or in the ground, or other places before the lockdown have been affected intensely. Closure of fitness centers and public parks has forced people to stay at home, which has disturbed their daily routines and hampered their fitness activities. While compulsion to stay at home for a long period of time poses a challenge to the continuity of physical fitness, the experience of hampered physical activities, restricted social communication, uncertainty, and helplessness leads to the emergence of psychological and physical health issues ( Ammar et al., 2020a , c ). Varshney et al. (2020) have found that psychological problems are occurring in adults while adjusting to the current lifestyle in accordance to the fear of contracting the COVID-19 disease. However, effective coping strategies, psychological resources, and regular physical exercise can be helpful in dealing with such health-related problems during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Chtourou et al., 2020 ).

It is important to note that physical activities (PA) and exercise not only maintain physical and psychological health but also help our body to respond to the negative consequences of several diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases ( Owen et al., 2010 ; Lavie et al., 2019 ; Jiménez-Pavón et al., 2020 ). In a recent review of 31 published studies, Bentlage et al. (2020) concluded that physical inactivity due to current pandemic restrictions is a major public health issue that is a prominent risk factor for decreased life expectancy and many physical health problems ( Jurak et al., 2020 ). Exercise is shown to keep other physical functions (respiratory, circulatory, muscular, nervous, and skeletal systems) intact and supports other systems (endocrine, digestive, immune, or renal systems) that are important in fighting any known or unknown threat to our body ( Lavie et al., 2019 ; Jiménez-Pavón et al., 2020 ).

Regular physical activity, while taking other precautions, is also considered effective in dealing with the health outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic ( Chen et al., 2020 ). Researchers from the University of Virginia Health System ( Yan and Spaulding, 2020 ) suggests that regular exercise might significantly reduce the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is one of the main causes of death in COVID-19 patients. Exercise and physical activities have important functions for individuals’ psychological well-being as well ( Stathi et al., 2002 ; Lehnert et al., 2012 ). There is sufficient literature to show that exercise can play a vital role in the promotion of positive mental health and well-being (e.g., Mazyarkin et al., 2019 ). However, when health promotion activities such as sports and regular gym exercises are not available in this pandemic situation, it is very difficult for individuals to meet the general WHO guidelines (150 min moderate to mild PA or 75 min intensive PA per week or combination of both) (cf. Bentlage et al., 2020 ). Amidst this pandemic-related restriction (home confinements and closed gyms, parks, and fitness centers), how people cope up and find ways to continue their physical fitness remains an important question.

Rationale for the Present Research

Since the onset of this disease, people have been confined to their homes, which has not only resulted in various psychological health issues but also challenged their physical fitness and health ( Ammar et al., 2020a , b , c , d ; Chtourou et al., 2020 ; Xiao et al., 2020 ). Although this pandemic situation has led to the unexpected cessation of almost all the outside routine activities of all the individuals, it has profoundly hampered the physical activities of fitness freaks (those who regularly go to the gym for their physical fitness), as gyms and other such places have been shut down due to the lockdown. However, studies addressing the issues of fitness freaks, who used to spend a significant amount of time for regular workout in order to maintain their physical fitness, health, and appearance, seem to have found no place so far in the literature in relation to the current pandemic situation. Supposedly, the unique experiences of such people, their health issues, and the ways in which they have dealt with these issues during the COVID-19 pandemic have remained underexplored.

Also, it is well-known that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for people to adequately maintain their normal physical activity patterns at home ( Ammar et al., 2020a ). There are plenty of studies that have addressed the impact of COVID-19 on physical activities of the general public ( Ammar et al., 2020a , b , c , d ; Chtourou et al., 2020 ; Xiao et al., 2020 ), demonstrated the significant decrease in physical activities and exercise patterns, and illustrated its ill effects on physical and mental health status. There is also a growing body of literature that suggests strategies to encourage people to be involved in home-based exercises and fitness activities ( Ammar et al., 2020a , b , c , d ; Chtourou et al., 2020 ; de Oliveira Neto et al., 2020 ). However, all these studies were conducted in the earlier phase of the pandemic. There is a lack of studies investigating the way in which people have dealt with the problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown/home confinement. In fact, it would be interesting to explore how and to what extent people were able to follow and benefited from the workout at home advices. Therefore, the present research aims at understanding people’s unique experiences during the period of lockdown due to COVID-19 and exploring the ways in which regular exercise engagements helped them deal with the psychological and physical consequences of home confinement.

In order to gain a rich and extensive understanding of experiences into people’s lives during this pandemic and their efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle, a qualitative approach was adopted for the study. We used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to delve into the participants’ perceptions and to provide a close picture of the participants’ unique experiences during the lockdown period.

Participants

A homogeneous sample of 22 participants was selected for this study. The criterion-based purposive sampling technique was used to identify and select the participants. We first contacted the gym owners/trainers and sought their consent to help us in the conduction of this study. Upon consent, we requested them to provide us with the details of their regular gym members who continuously go to the gym and do fitness exercises for at least 6 months prior to the imposed lockdown. Once the list was generated, the prospective participants were then connected by phone, were explained the purpose of the study, and were requested for their consent to participate. Those who consented for their inclusion in the study were then asked some questions based on the pre-decided inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study. On the basis of this information, those participants who met the inclusion criteria (i.e., those who were continuing fitness workout in their home or hostels and were following strict home confinement measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown) were further contacted and requested to provide an appointment for a telephone interview.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria for the Participants

The participants meeting the following criteria were included in the study:

• Individuals aged 18 years or older.

• Individuals with no known history of physical and/or psychological illness.

• Individuals who were doing regular gym workout for the last 6 months or more for at least 45 min daily before COVID-19.

• Individuals who were completely dependent on gym exercise for their physical fitness.

However, individuals meeting the following criteria were not included in the study:

• Individuals who were irregular or occasional gym visitors.

• Individuals who were practicing other physical exercises besides gym workout.

• Individuals with any physical and/or psychological conditions or individuals on any kind of medication.

Table 1 presents the demographic and exercise characteristics of the participants included in this study.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the participants.

The purpose, importance, and relevance of the study were explained to the participants, and informed consent was obtained for their participation. All the participants were assured of the confidentiality of their responses and identity. Upon consent, the participants were requested to share their convenient time for a telephone interview. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted to explore the exclusive experiences of the participants with regard to their physical fitness during the lockdown. An interview schedule composed of non-directive, open-ended questions was prepared. There was no fixed order of questions; they were modified and re-modified as per the flow of the conversation with each participant. Some of the main questions prepared for the semi-structured interviews included “What is your perception of this situation we are currently living in?,” “What is your lockdown experience?,” “How frequently you used to go to gym for exercise before the lockdown was imposed?,” “How do you manage exercise at home?,” “What is your exercise schedule now?,” “What changes did you perceive in yourself during this lockdown?,” “How are you coping with this lockdown?,” “Did you experience any psychological issue during this period of time?,” “How do physical exercises help in combating the crisis you are facing?,” “What background aid do you use while exercising at home?,” “What is the need to use such aids while exercising?,” “How does fatigue impact you when you exercise during the lockdown?,” “What is the importance of proper sleep in following a regular schedule of exercise during this lockdown?,” “Do you miss your gym mates?,” “Do you feel you share an identity with your fellow gym mates?,” etc. Additional probing questions were also added as the need occurred during the individual interviews. In addition questions were also asked t o understand the differences between their pre and during COVID-19 lockdown fitness exercise patterns (see Table 2 ). All the interviews were conducted in the native language of the participants in Hindi and English. With due permission from the participants, the interviews were recorded. The interview time duration range was between 20 and 30 min. All the interviews conducted in Hindi were transcribed and then translated in English by the researchers. The translated interviews were then proofread by a native English speaker for correctness and consistency.

Table 2. Pre- and during COVID fitness exercise information of the participants.

Analysis and Results

All the recorded interviews were transcribed. These transcripts were then analyzed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) framework to identify the participants’ experiences of lockdown, their alternative choice to continue their fitness routine, and its impact on their health. A stepwise progression method was used to analyze the data. At first, the researchers read the transcripts many times to get a deeper understanding of the experiences as described by the participants. In order to gain as close an understanding of the data as possible, the researchers listened to the audio recordings of the participants while reading the transcribed data.

In the following step, the attempts were made to transform the transcripts into a conceptual framework that was deeply connected to the participant’s original verbatim in order to identify emergent themes (see Table 3 ).

Table 3. Major themes and subthemes that emerged from the interviews indicating participants’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After identifying the emerging themes, the transcripts were read again so as to cluster these emergent themes together according to their similarities at the basic level. In this process, some themes emerged as the broad themes under which subthemes were incorporated. The major themes and subthemes that emerged in the analysis are presented in Table 3 .

Table 3 presents six major themes describing the experiences of participants with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic and their efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The following section discusses each of these themes and its subthemes along with the relevant excerpts from participants’ experiences.

Psychological Health Issues

Almost every participant reported facing psychological health issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Participants experienced frustration, anxiety, fear, and stress. For example, participant 11 reported,

“I am experiencing frustration daily for spending my 24 by 7 time at home, looking at same faces and am not allowed to go anywhere. Anxiety of work and its upcoming scenarios tickle my mind a lot. What if I have to do my job virtually for a lifetime? ………….Like that. And especially experiencing a fear of losing my ever charming personality, the economic status of family, no wages or less wages, fewer opportunities in future, job shift, health care of my family.”

The closure due to the pandemic has created a state of uncertainty about an individual’s own future as well as about the future of the family and community, which in turn is being reflected in terms of psychological states of frustration, anxiety, fear, and stress.

Individuals stuck at their homes without a clearly defined routine and work are not able to prioritize their work schedules, resulting in the experience of unexplained laziness and fatigue. Participant 7, for example, reports that

“Physical fatigue has reduced as there is no physical load or fixed working hours, but the mental fatigue and mental pressure has increased manifolds. Worries have increased. Spare time is more than what was required and due to this lethargy has increased. Frustration level is going up.”

The monotonous and closed life cycle of one confined to one’s own home has also resulted in extreme disturbances of one’s sleep cycle. For example, Participant 5 reports,

“Sleep a lot, a lot!! Just imagine I have been sleeping 10 to 12 hours after the lockdown. My sleep pattern was set earlier due to office, but it is disturbed now in the absence of a routine. I have virtual meetings now also, but if the meeting is to start at 10, I would get up at 9.40, wash my face and attend the meeting. After that I feel like taking a nap again. I sleep for 8 hours wake up and exercise in the morning, but I have the liberty to be flexible with my time. seriously I am craving for gyms to open, my trainer to keep a check on me, scold me, I really want complete sleep and a routine.”

It is therefore evident from these examples that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the experience of psychological problems characterized by frustration, anxiety, fear, and stress. The sleep–wake cycle is interrupted, leading to a state of laziness and mental fatigue.

Lack of Motivation for Fitness

The closure of gyms and other fitness activity centers, including sports stadiums, morning walk parks, etc., and the heightened psychological health issues have resulted in the lack of fitness motivation. For example, participant 1 reports,

“See, ultimately due to the shutdown of gym during this pandemic, my rhythm has been disturbed, you are getting it? I have had a tight schedule always due to my profession but each evening I used to hit the gym daily…………. I mean, that zeal is gone, ……….now also I am getting time in the evening but then also I am unable to ask myself to work out because that gym environment is gone, the gym people as you would see other fellows at gym, that would motivate you, their body gives you an inspiration that how he or she is that fit, they motivate you, here I share an identity with them, I find those people as source of my motivation to physical exercise, those people give you so much morale and now that is lost totally, I literally crave for that.”

The motivation for fitness is not only internal but also external. People are motivated when they observe others doing fitness activities. Gym mates and their physique work as motivating factors for individuals to engage in a regular and routine gym activity. Participant 10 said in frustration that,

“Almost all gone, ………….the motivation is the most ruined thing today, ……….talking about my workout, I have been hitting the gym since I was 22………, Imagine how much that space motivated me, I miss that, my pals there……., not because we are friends or something, see gym doesn’t provide you an environment to make pals or something as people change their gyms and many a thing but, they give you a lot of competition, you become jealous of their appearance and later that workout that space becomes your habit, I miss that, say like anything, but still I am trying.”

It is evident from the above statement that a lack of motivation for fitness was due to the home confinement and lack of presence of others. The presence of others engaged in a similar activity not only creates a sense of shared identity but also is a source of healthy competition and thus motivation.

Change of Perception

As the days progressed, individuals learned to respond to the pandemic in a more constructive and positive manner. Their perception for the situation remained the same (negative), but their perception toward themselves started to change. They started believing that even though they could not change the situation, they could do the same for their own self to deal with the situation. Participant 2, for example, commented on the situation and said,

“Ah! Talking about the situation we are living in, it is so unprecedented, anything can happen anytime, though I am less stressed as compared to the date the lockdown was announced, I perceive this whole situation is so terrible, worst… what is this happening, you just tell me, wake up in fear and sleep in fear. I wonder when this is going to end.”

However, upon asking about her/his own self, s/he added

“You know this COVID has done only one thing right, that is, you know giving me immense time to work on myself, which otherwise I always overlooked. Though I went to gym for my physique only but never gave time to my thoughts, skills, etc. So when talking about changes in myself or perception of self, I would say changes come under three categories in me- first physical, that is appearance, personal, like I will quote enjoying every bit of time. Who knows I am next. I now celebrate life, and finally social changes in myself, as I have got time to work on my communication skills, talking on virtual platforms and sense of oneness or say unity, as I am locked down in hostel and we guys do every deed and task on our own without family, standing together.”

Similarly participant 22 summarized the situation as

“(Laughing), Seriously! The Virus is making a joke on us, truly this is the worst of situations I can ever imagine, I am so negative about the situation we are in, I am in… everyone in….you know how stressful it is for me to know that I am unable to practise. You know as a clinician how hard it is to be like this. Though I am still a student but think likewise, harsh situation madam, extra precautions for everything, negative, too much negative. This time would be a memorable time for generations; sorry my tone has become louder I am kind of in agony, all credits to this so called CORONA.”

S/he, however, further commented that

“my experience throughout the past few months in this Corona Era is so negative but myself-perception or I would say how I am taking myself now from earlier has meaningfully changed now. You know, I am someone who is giving time to myself, exploring my hobbies, giving time to leisure, learning kitchen skills, learning new dishes, becoming a chef besides being a dentist you know. So, for me, myself, I am so positive with regards to myself.”

It is therefore evident that increased experiences with an initial unfamiliar situation initiate the coping mechanisms within an individual, which is reflected in the changed perception of their own self, and reappraisal of the situation in a more positive manner.

Shifting Focus on Substitutes of Gym Workout and Equipment

With the positive change in perception, individuals started to think about their normal routine and tried to find ways to substitute their normal activities. They started trying to shift their exercises from gym to other available places and using alternatives to gym equipment for their fitness activities. The statement of participant 20 indicated how shifting from gym-based exercises to yoga practices was an effective alternative for coping with the habitual compulsion for gym exercises.

“Since I get a pace back again for my physical fitness in this lockdown, I have made a shift to yoga, especially the power yoga in the morning time. I prefer doing meditation as well. Earlier I never used to practise the same but now I have seen videos of some asanas good for health, I am following them and practising them. It’s a shift for peace I guess. I tried something new and found my gym addiction could be controlled or moderated by taking out time for yoga and meditation even after COVID.”

Similarly, participant 17 reported her/his shift to high-intensity workouts at home.

“See, as you might know not everyone has exercise equipment at home which we used to have in gym. So, I prefer those exercises which require less or zero weights say jumping jacks, skipping.”

After resuming motivation, in order to stay physically active and fit, participants actively engaged in the process of finding alternatives to their routine physical exercise equipment. Participant 14 reported shifting to alternatives to heavy weights

“I personally was too much dependent on equipment to exercise in the gym. Now there is no option left because even online, the 5 and 10 kg weights are out of stock, And, nearby stores are either closed or you can’t go out. So, for me it was tough but I searched the internet, the social media, talked to fitness experts and used some ‘JUGAAD’ at home. So, they are using buckets, big water bottles and skipping ropes. I had 10 kg iron rods of water pipeline spare at my home, I am using that and these are helpful and I guess need of the hour.”

Social Media Dependence

One of the major shifts in the individuals’ lives during this pandemic was the increased social media dependence. As a result of social distancing, people were spending more time online to virtually connect with others and stream entertainment. In the backdrop, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the time spent on social media that helped people kill time. Participant 12 reported the benefits as well as the drawbacks of this social media dependence.

“Social-media is a mixed feeling platform. I mean at one hand it keeps me updated with the happening around; the facilities promised by the government; and… it keeps me connected with the world. But on the other, it irritates me a lot, a lot of misinformation creates a worry in you. So yes, there is a dual objective of this social media.”

However, participant 4 viewed this increased dependence on social media as an effective strategy to break the silence and to overcome the monotonous days.

“Our life has given us so much time ……., I mean I have so much spare time but besides that, I have a monotonous schedule every day, so social media keeps me busy, for example, web series suggestion and reviews, movies suggestion and reviews, video games, etc. Also, on the one hand, I do not get bored as one day I am learning some planting technique at home through media, the other day something to cook, some family or friend sharing his/her recipe, hobby ideas, craft ideas, writing, etc. Physical workout schedule helps me a lot. I am doing one thing useful at a time, and that keeps me busy.”

Similarly, participant 3 reported that

“Definitely social media has impacted my sitting schedule as I am just sitting for a long span of time, say while eating or talking to family. I am sitting scrolling YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, one post after the other. It has become my habit now. I feel like I will only watch a single video or only this news but I end up spending 1 to 2 hours scrolling and watching. Seriously, it’s a habit now, but I am glad that workout is something I do in my schedule, which is so productive, and I really feel good about myself because of the physical fitness.”

However, participant 21 pointed out the experience of lack of emotional attachment, sympathy, and support resulting from the content consistently served by social media.

“Social media is full of content which reveal crime stories, life matters, relationships, suicides, etc. at a large scale. So many movie clips, videos, web series show a lot of crime, aggression or say anything on that. So, I feel now-a-days emotionally detached to any relationship, friendship or even to my family. If I receive their call, I would say yes okay fine, no further interest in how they are dealing or what they are experiencing. And if they ask I would say, so what, I am not a kid anymore. I lead my life you lead yours, definitely social media is making me someone I never used to be. In fact, my sister has become the same, though she is living with the family under the same roof. Earlier I was so sensitive to any suicide or crime. If I heard of that I would cry or be sad. I used to feel the pain of the victim. Now, I hear a story for real and I am like, yeah part of life, or you pay for deeds like that. No sympathy left I guess, so detached.”

However, what was more important was that social media was seen to be helping individuals in maintaining their daily fitness routines by providing them alternative fitness tools and techniques, the virtual company of other fitness freaks, and by helping them back, influencing others and getting influenced by others. Participant 6 reported that

“Social media has lots of side effects, but a good effect of it now-a-days for a gym freak like me is that social media provides videos of trainers, and other freaks working out at home or hostels. I can know now virtually how to maintain a schedule. They are sharing their experience, they are influencing me a lot, I am trying my best, and workout is helping me a lot.”

Favorable Attitude Toward Music as a Tool

Many participants also reported the use of music as an aid while exercising. Participant 7 reported that

“I have two schedules of exercise. If working out in the morning, I prefer soothing music, like that of birds chirping, or instrumental jazz. And if I am exercising in evening, I want to listen to EDM, that is electronic dance music, I have made a playlist of computerised music and listen to that in evening. I prefer music because it takes you to another world, which is needed the most now (exclaimed!) It creates an environment like that of a gym in my head, or say, I imagine I am in the gym, as I cut off all the surrounding voices.”

Similarly, participant 9 reported that

“I just love to have old-country music while I am exercising. It is a kind of genre of songs, the old country one, and sometimes I love random numbers of songs. It is needed because you can say it lets me focus, helps me to calm down. Also, when I am locked at home, it actually provides me a world free of distractions, just my own world, where there is no corona. Music is ultimate fun. If there is no music available I will not workout, because workout makes me happy and I really want to exercise effectively and enjoy it too.”

It is, therefore, evident that music is an important supporting tool that helps individuals relax and enjoy their original routine even when they are working out at home. Music is a powerful tool that recreates the same environment that participants used to have during their gym exercise times.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought major upheaval in the life of every individual across the globe. It has hampered the day-to-day activities of almost all individuals including those who depend on gyms for their physical fitness routine. The present study was conducted with individuals for whom going to the gym was a routine activity so as to explore their experiences in terms of their perceptions of the pandemic situation and their ways of coping with COVID-19-induced uncertainties and health issues.

The findings of this study not only are consistent with a range of studies that have reported psychological health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown ( Hawryluck et al., 2004 ; Ammar et al., 2020a , b , c , d ; Chtourou et al., 2020 ; de Oliveira Neto et al., 2020 ; Shigemura et al., 2020 ; Varshney et al., 2020 ) but also go beyond those to suggest that, with time, individuals learn to adopt to situations in healthy and positive ways. Participants reported experiencing a significant change in their sleeping pattern, unexplained laziness, and mental fatigue, and having a general feeling of fear, anxiety, stress, and frustration due to home confinement, which impacted their motivation to find alternate ways to continue fitness exercises.

Other factors found responsible for the lack of fitness motivation were the absence of gym partners and the lack of gym environment, which were also considered as potential sources of gym motivation in earlier studies ( Sonstroem and Morgan, 1989 ; Sonstroem and Harlow, 1994 ; McAuley et al., 2000 ; Fox, 2003 ; Tamur, 2014 ). It is important to note that, being a social entity, people like the company of others and feel connected to each other. This feeling of connectedness is found to be associated with various psychological constructs such as persistence, motivation, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and physical as well as psychological health ( Scully et al., 1998 ; Proctor et al., 2011 ; Haslam et al., 2015 ; Begun et al., 2018 ). The absence of this feeling of connectedness that people were used to experiencing in a gym environment probably was one of the reasons for the lack of motivation for home exercise.

The findings of the study also indicated that although the participants’ perception of the pandemic situation was negative initially, their self-perception gradually improved toward a positive one, as they realized that they had enough time to look after themselves. Rauthmann et al. (2015) reported that environment and behavior, if different from the usual, lead to a negative situational perception. However, with an increase in time available to devote to oneself, perceptions change in a positive direction ( Karagiannidis et al., 2015 ). Such a change in perception is likely to promote the process of self-approval and find effective ways to deal with the current situation.

In the present study, a shift from the gym workout and fitness equipment toward substitutes is clearly visible during the latter part of the lockdown. After the initial confusion and passive wait for things to normalize, participants accepted the reality and started thinking about alternatives to exercises related to heavy gym equipment. Some of the alternatives listed by them included switching to yoga and meditation ( National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2020 ), high-intensity workout at home, and lifting heavy buckets, big water bottles, and skipping. All these alternative arrangements not only helped individuals maintain their daily exercise routine but also contributed to their physical and mental health ( Jiménez-Pavón et al., 2020 ; Nicol et al., 2020 ). In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine had recommended 150–300 min of aerobic exercise per week and two sessions per week of moderate-intensity muscle strength exercises for people to be physically active during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Joy, 2020 ).

The mixed impact of social media usage and listening to music during exercise was also observed in this study. Results clearly indicate that participants found social media to be an effective medium to keep themselves up to date about the pandemic situation and to overcome the monotony of home confinement. Apart from this, participants also experienced a lack of emotional attachment, as face-to-face interaction during the said period was missing. This encouraged participants to use social media to get connected to people as well as to witness their regular activities, which they were missing otherwise. Several studies in the past have argued that social support boosts motivation for training and can increase up to 35% more adherence to a physical exercise program ( Rhodes et al., 2001 ) and that it can be an additional strategy to make exercise events more interactive and less dissociated from afferent body responses (heart rate, breathing), which in turn results in more positive training experience ( Kravitz and Furst, 1991 ; Pridgeon and Grogan, 2012 ).

Social media was also used as a platform to know about virtual fitness techniques and opportunities for online training for physical exercise. Ammar et al. (2020d) demonstrated 15% higher use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) during the COVID-19 confinement duration, which indicates higher use of social media and app use for home-based fitness activities ( Tate et al., 2015 ; Ammar et al., 2020a ).

Furthermore, participants also found that listening to music was an effective aid to keep themselves engaged as they exercised. This also supports the finding that music helps people to continue their fitness workout for a significantly longer period of time ( Thakare et al., 2017 ). A series of studies have shown that music creates an ergogenic effect during physical and cognitive performance and is linked to heightened motivation and engagement and lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression ( Chtourou et al., 2015 ). In their recent meta-analytic review Terry et al. (2020) have concluded that listening to music during physical activity boosts positive affective valence and results in improved physical engagement and enhanced physiological responses. It is therefore clearly evident that listening to music while doing physical exercise during the current pandemic has enabled people to focus on the exercise without any distraction from the home setting and has enabled them to create their own world, where there is no COVID-19.

To conclude, the findings of the study indicate that the perceptions and social media habits of fitness freaks, who were hitting gyms for a regular workout before the lockdown, were greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also experienced psychological health issues during the initial phase of the pandemic. However, they gradually changed their dependence on gym-based workout and switched to alternative exercises that helped them greatly to restore their mental and physical health.

Implications and Future Suggestions

The present study shows that despite the initial experience of anxiety and fear and the lack of motivation to engage in physical exercise at home, fitness freaks were able to shift to home exercises and were greatly supported by social media uses and listening to music. One could argue that this study only included fitness freaks who find it difficult to detach themselves from physical activities for a long time, and this was probably the reason for their shift to home-based exercises. However, there is no doubt that the findings of this study have demonstrated that if performed regularly, physical exercise has the potential to mitigate the ill physical as well as psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study, therefore, could be extended to the common public to also persuade them to engage in physical fitness exercises, which would result not only in a better physical health but also in an enhanced psychological health and well-being. The findings of this study strengthen the recommendations made by researchers and organizations (for details see Chtourou et al., 2020 ; World Health Organization [WHO], 2020 ) to engage in home-based exercises (including, but not limited to, aerobic activities, balance and flexibility exercises, and muscular strength and endurance training) for about 150–180 min per week; to use social media, music, and/or similar techniques to increase adherence to physical exercises; and to practice dancing and yoga to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and even improve the quality of sleep ( Chennaoui et al., 2015 ; Chtourou et al., 2015 ). It is also noted that one should start physical exercise and its alternatives in a progressive manner and must adhere to his/her fitness levels for choosing the amount and intensity of these exercises.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher.

Ethics Statement

All procedures followed in this study were in accordance with the APA’s ethical standards and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and its later amendments. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

HK, TS, and YA conceptualized the study. HK and TS prepared study protocols. HK collected data, conducted initial data analysis, and wrote the first draft. TS, SM, and YA finalized data analysis, reviewed, and commented on the draft manuscript. HK, TS, SM, and YA contributed to the preparation of the final draft. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Yan, Z., and Spaulding, H. R. (2020). Extracellular superoxide dismutase, a molecular transducer of health benefits of exercise. Redox Biol. 32:101508. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2020.101508

Keywords : COVID-19, physical fitness, exercise, lockdown, gym workout

Citation: Kaur H, Singh T, Arya YK and Mittal S (2020) Physical Fitness and Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Enquiry. Front. Psychol. 11:590172. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.590172

Received: 31 July 2020; Accepted: 06 October 2020; Published: 29 October 2020.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2020 Kaur, Singh, Arya and Mittal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Tushar Singh, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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2020: A Year in Fitness Like No Other

The novel coronavirus crept into and transformed every aspect of our lives, including the way we work out.

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By Gretchen Reynolds

This year, the novel coronavirus crept into and transformed every aspect of our lives, including our fitness. In countless ways — some surprising, and a few beneficial and potentially lasting — it altered how, why and what we need from exercise .

At the start of the year, few of us expected a virus to upend our world and workouts. In January and February, I was writing about topics that seemed pressing at the time, such as whether low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diets endanger athletes’ skeletal health; if fat-soled, maximalist running shoes might alter our strides; and how completing a marathon — remember those? — remodels first-time racers’ arteries .

The answers, by the way, according to the research, are that avoiding carbs for several weeks may produce early signs of declining bone health in endurance athletes; runners donning super-cushioned, marshmallowy shoes often strike the ground with greater force than if they wear skinnier pairs; and a single marathon renders new runners’ arteries more pliable and biologically youthful.

But concerns about shoe cushioning and racing tended to fade in March, when the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic and we suddenly had new, top-of-the-mind worries, including social distancing, masks, aerosol spread and lockdowns.

The effects on our exercise routines seemed to be both immediate and stuttering. At that time, none of us knew quite how and whether to work out in these new circumstances. Should we still run, ride and stroll outside if our community had instituted stay-at-home restrictions? Did we need to wear a mask during exercise — and could we do so without feeling as if we were suffocating? Were communal drinking fountains safe?

My first column grappling with these and related topics appeared on March 19 . The experts I spoke with then were adamant that we should aim to remain physically active during the pandemic — but avoid shared drinking fountains. They also pointed out, though, that many questions about the virus, including how to exercise safely, remained unresolved.

After that, our experience with — and the research about — Covid and exercise snowballed. A much-discussed April study, for instance, showed that brisk walking and running could alter and accelerate the flow of air around us, sending expired respiratory particles farther than if we stayed still. Consequently, the study concluded, runners and walkers should maintain 15 feet or more of social distance between themselves and others, more than double the standard six feet of separation then recommended. (Subsequent research found that outdoor activities were generally safe, though experts still suggest staying as far apart as is practical, and to wear a mask.)

Another cautionary study I wrote about in June tracked 112 Covid infections in South Korea that spring to Zumba classes. A few infected instructors introduced the virus to their students during close-quarter, indoor, exuberant classes. Some students carried it home, infecting dozens of their family members and friends. Most rapidly recovered. But the study’s story was disquieting. “Exercising in a gym will make you vulnerable to infectious disease,” one of its disease-detective authors told me.

Thankfully, other science about exercising in the time of Covid was more encouraging. In two recent experiments involving masked exercisers , researchers found that face coverings barely budged people’s heart rates, respirations or, after some initial getting used to, subjective sense of the workouts’ difficulty. Moving felt the same, whether participants wore masks or not. (I use a cloth mask or neck gaiter on all my hikes and runs now.)

More surprising, the pandemic seems to have nudged some people to start moving more, additional research found. An online survey of runners and other athletes in June reported that most of these already active people said they were training more frequently now.

A separate British study , however, produced more-nuanced results. Using objective data from an activity-tracking phone app, its authors found that many of the older app users were up and walking more regularly after the pandemic began. But a majority of the younger, working-age adults, even if they had been active in the before times, sat almost all day now.

The long-range impacts of Covid on how often and in what ways we move are unsettled, of course, and I suspect will be the subject of considerable research in the years ahead. But, as someone who writes about, enjoys and procrastinates with exercise, the primary lesson of this year in exercise for me has been that fitness, in all its practical and evocative meanings, has never been so important.

In a useful study I wrote about in August , for instance, young, college athletes — all supremely fit — produced more antibodies to a flu vaccine than other healthy but untrained young people, a result that will keep me working out in anticipation of the Covid vaccine.

More poetically, in a mouse study I covered in September, animals that ran became much better able to cope later with unfamiliar trouble and stress than animals that had sat quietly in their cages.

And in perhaps my favorite study of the year, people who undertook “awe walks,” during which they deliberately sought out and focused on the small beauties and unexpected wonders along their way, felt more rejuvenated and happier afterward than walkers who did not cultivate awe.

In other words, we can dependably find solace and emotional — and physical — strength in moving through a world that remains lovely and beckoning. Happy, healthy holidays, everyone.

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Physical exercise and COVID-19 pandemic in PubMed: Two months of dynamics and one year of original scientific production

Rodrigo l. vancini.

a Centro de Educação Física e Desportos (CEFD), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES), Espírito Santo (ES), Brazil

Marília S. Andrade

b Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo (SP), Brazil

Ricardo B. Viana

c Setor de Fisiologia Humana e do Exercício, Faculdade de Educação Física e Dança, Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), Goiânia, Goiás (GO), Brazil

Pantelis T. Nikolaidis

d School of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, Greece

Beat Knechtle

e Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, St. Gallen and Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Cássia R.V. Campanharo

f Escola Paulista de Enfermagem (EPE), UNIFESP, São Paulo (SP), Brazil

Alexandre A. de Almeida

g Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Tocantins (IFTO Araguatins), Campus Araguatins. Povoado Santa Tereza, Km 05 S/N Zona Rural, Araguatins, Tocantins (TO), Brazil

Paulo Gentil

Claudio a.b. de lira.

Our aim was to conduct a narrative review about physical exercise and Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A literature search was completed crossing the keywords “COVID-19” and “physical exercise”, for a narrative review, and physical activity (PA), physical exercise, physical training, sport, physical fitness, for a systematic review; search strategy (Randomized Controlled Trial, in the last 1 year, English). The first search date was closed on 04/26/2020 and 06/26/2020. This strategy was chosen to assess the dynamics of scientific information production for the pandemic. In two months, an increase of 76%, from 12 (19.4%) to 50 (80.64%) COVID-19 articles ( n  = 62, 100%) was found. The main types of articles published were editorial articles (16.13%, n  = 10 of 62 articles) and commentary (9.68%, n  = 6 of 62 articles). The most frequent country of origin of the scientific production was the United States (12.90%, n  = 8 of 62 articles), the United Kingdom (12.90%, n  = 8 of 62 articles), and Brazil (11.29%, n  = 7 of 62 articles). However, in 2020, there were only 2 relevant randomized controlled trials on the COVID-19 topic in the context of physical exercise. Scientific information production shows the concern of the PA science community to bring a solution to the increase in physical inactivity generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show the dynamics of scientific production on the COVID-19, in a situation so unique such as a pandemic, denotes that the practice of PA is essential to improve and/or maintain physical and mental health.

Introduction

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”. 1 Evidence suggests that the severity of COVID-19 is associated with the health status of individuals prior to infection. 1 , 2 , 3 Factors linked with increased risk of hospitalization and mortality in COVID-19 patients include overweight/obesity, diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance, arterial hypertension and its comorbidities, and coronary heart and cerebrovascular diseases. 2 , 3 Sedentary behavior, poor dietary habits, and physical inactivity are characterized by chronic and high inflammation. 4 , 5 Supposedly, these conditions make people more vulnerable to the most serious forms of COVID-19. People with more morbidities and low levels of functional capacity on admission to the hospital; immunosuppression and chronic low-grade inflammation characterized by increased levels of several proinflammatory cytokines, particularly the elderly, tend to have more severe forms of the disease and higher mortality rates. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 It should be noted that moderate levels of physical exercise improve immunity and could provide an immuno-protective effect. 5

One important point is that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the practice of physical exercise could contribute to reduced social and economic concerns and negative health, physical, and mental impacts. However, to decrease the disease dissemination/transmission in many countries, 6 , 7 it is necessary to keep closed public facilities involving clusters of people such as exercise facilities and gyms. Supposedly, this scenario could worsen the pandemic of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors as well as mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forward the importance of healthy living including PA during the period of quarantine, isolation, and social distancing recommended by The World Health Organization (WHO) 1 , 8 and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 9 , 10 , 11 However, social isolation and quarantine can have a negative impact on physical exercise levels, quality of life, and physical fitness, while increasing psychiatric disorders. 12 , 13

The physical exercise is an important tool because it could reduce noncommunicable diseases risk (heart disease, diabetes, and cancer and associated with reducing arterial hypertension, overweight, and obesity) associated with sedentary lifestyle 14 , 15 during and after social isolation and quarantine. 1 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 16 For example, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to increase screen time and decreased energy expenditure. This type of sedentary behavior is associated with an increase in morbidity and prevalence of noncommunicable diseases.

According to the WHO, 17 regular physical exercise participation is essential for preventing and treating non-communicable diseases which can improve and maintain mental health, quality of life, wellbeing, and improve the quality of the aging process. 14 , 15 , 18 , 19

However, during the COVID-19 outbreak, the levels of physical exercise around the world have decreased significantly because of social isolation and physical inactivity 6 and consequently increased the risk for mental disorders. 6 , 7 Thus, maintaining physical exercise levels is an effective way to deal with the negative effects imposed by confinement and strategies created by health professionals to face these situations must be implemented. For example, through education and health promotion campaigns, initiatives to encourage and give access to home-based exercise was programmed. Therefore, physical exercise professionals should use different communication channels including television, social networks and media, and technological resources to bring education for the use of low cost and viable physical exercise programming. the use of education and technological inclusion, in the context of public health associated with the pandemic, is necessary to increase and/or maintain global physical exercise levels during social isolation and confinement.

Finally, the scientific information production concerning COVID-19 vs. physical exercise is moving at a rapid pace, producing interesting public health information. In addition, the dynamics and profile of scientific production are interesting to observe. Thus, the aims of this review are (1) to present main terms and concepts about (and applied in) COVID-19 pandemic and physical exercise; (2) to describe/assess the dynamics of scientific information production concerning physical exercise and COVID-19 in the PubMed database taken during the first two months of the pandemic; and (3) to conduct a review of randomized controlled trial articles for one-year of information production focusing on the year 2020 concerning COVID-19 and PA, physical exercise, physical training, sport, and physical fitness.

Materials and methods

First, a literature search was completed using standard terms and concepts linked and frequently mentioned in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. The standardization of terms and concepts in scenarios as uncertain and confusing as the one we are experiencing is essential to assist the scientific community and the public (AIM 1).

Second, a PubMed literature search was completed within 2 months and performed crossing only the words “COVID-19 and physical exercise” terms/descriptors in the PubMed database for two specific dates 04/26/2020 and 06/26/2020 to assess the dynamics of scientific information production (author, type article, country of origin, and main conclusion). Two months of scientific information production was chosen because the movement of the scientific production presented a rapid increase. So, we thought it necessary to close the time of the literature search to meet the purpose of the present study (AIM2).

The focus of this aspect of the literature search was to analyze the scientific information production of one of the most traditional scientific databases which is PubMed ( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ).

Articles were reviewed by two authors independently and at the same time. After analyzing the article title, which was the titled related to the theme of COVID-19 and physical exercise, the article information content and conclusion were analyzed. Only articles in the English language were considered. The reason for choosing the keywords physical exercise vs. COVID-19 was to focus our attention on one set of crucial keywords when the study propose was to improve physical fitness. That is, the planned and structured physical exercise aimed to improve the state of health and quality of life.

Finally, an one-year’s scientific production focusing on randomized controlled trials; on COVID-19 and PA, physical exercise, physical training, sport, physical fitness; in the PubMed database was verified and evaluated (AIM 3). To broaden the vision within the proposed aim, we decided to expand the literature search with respect to the keywords used.

Fig. 1 shows the article selection diagram according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. 115

Article selection - Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol. 115 Other sources refer to material relevant to the context of the pandemic and physical exercise.

Table 1 presents important terms and concepts (definitions, sources, and references) used extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic and concepts and keywords related to physical exercise (AIM 1). When searching the PubMed database on 04/26/2020, 12 relevant articles concerning COVID-19 and physical exercise were found ( Table 2 ). After two months, the scientific information production increased by 76% from 12 articles on 04/26/2020 to 50 articles on 06/26/2020. Of these articles, the production of original articles on the subject was considered low ( n  = 8, 12.7%). Regarding scientific information production on COVID-19 and physical exercise, progressive and strong growth in the number of citations on the subject existed. This growth denotes a mobilization of the global scientific community for physical exercise in the information production and knowledge to cope with the pandemic (AIM 2).

Table 1

Standardization of terms and concepts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (AIM 1).

Table 2

Papers found in the PubMed database about COVID-19 and Physical exercise. The research in database was performed on 04/26/2020 (AIM 2).

Of the 62 total articles concerning COVID-19 and physical exercise produced in two months, 12 articles on 04/26/2020 and 50 articles on 06/26/2020, the profile of the published articles were:

Article type: brief report ( n  = 1, 1.61%), clinical practice ( n  = 1, 1.61%), commentary ( n  = 6, 9.68%), communication ( n  = 1, 1.61%), consensus statement ( n  = 1, 1.61%), editorial ( n  = 10, 16.13%), infographic ( n  = 3, 4.84%), letter ( n  = 11, 17.74%), opinion ( n  = 5, 8.06%), original article ( n  = 9, 14.52%), perspective ( n  = 1, 1.61%), rapid report ( n  = 1, 1.61%), review ( n  = 6, 9.68%), short paper ( n  = 1, 1.61%), special article ( n  = 1, 1.61%), spotlight ( n  = 2, 3.23%), thematic section ( n  = 1, 1.61%), and viewpoint ( n  = 1, 1.61%).

Country of origin: Of the 62 articles, according to the affiliation of the first author, the following frequency was observed (countries are in alphabetic order); Australia ( n  = 5, 8.06%), Belgium ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Brazil ( n  = 7, 11.29%), Canada ( n  = 2, 3.23%), Chile ( n  = 1, 1.61%), China ( n  = 6, 9.68%), France ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Greece ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Germany ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Iran ( n  = 2, 3.23%), Italy ( n  = 6, 9.68%), Japan ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Norway ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Portugal ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Saudi Arabia ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Singapore ( n  = 1, 1.61%), South Africa ( n  = 2, 3.23%), South Korea ( n  = 1, 1.61%), Spain ( n  = 3, 4.84%), Switzerland ( n  = 1, 1.61%), The Netherlands ( n  = 1, 1.61%), United Kingdom ( n  = 8, 12.90%), and United States ( n  = 8, 12.90%). The results in Table 2 , Table 3 present information (author, country, article type, and main conclusion) of relevant articles published in the PubMed database in the break of 04/26/2020 to 06/26/2020, respectively (AIM 2).

Table 3

Papers found in the PubMed database about COVID-19 and Physical exercise from 04/26/2020 to 06/26/2020 (AIM 2).

Regarding AIM 3, assessing systematically the scientific information production of randomized clinical trials in 2020 in English only, on COVID-19 vs. PA, physical exercise, physical training, sport, and physical fitness found in the PubMed Database on 06/12/2020. This assessment observed using the crossing (AND) of the subject descriptors PA and COVID-19. The search found throughout the PubMed database, without a search filter, 1,187 articles. When filters were applied - Randomized Controlled Trial, in the last 1 year, English - six articles were found. Of these six articles, only two articles were related to the aims of the present work. The article by Liu et al., 95 which investigated the effects of 6-week respiratory rehabilitation training on respiratory function, quality of life, mobility, and psychological function in elderly patients with COVID-19, and the article by Shaw et al. 96 assessed whether wearing face masks helped prevent developing COVID-19. With the same search strategy in the crossing (AND) of the subject descriptors (physical exercise and COVID-19), without a search filter, 862 articles were found. When the previous research strategy was used ( Randomized Controlled Trial, in the last 1 year, English ) five articles were found. Of these five articles, when analyzing the title, only two articles - Liu et al. 95 and Shaw et al. 96 - were related to the objectives of the present work. With the same strategy based on crossing (AND) the subject descriptors (physical training and COVID-19), without a search filter, 843 articles were found. When this search strategy was entered, six articles were found. Of these six articles, when analyzing the title, only one article was related to the objectives of the present work. 95 For the same search strategy using the terms sport AND COVID-19, without a search filter, 791 articles were found. When filters were added, only one article 95 was found. Finally, when the terms physical fitness AND COVID-19 without a search filter were crossed, 78 articles were found. However, with a search filter, no results were found.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the sport and physical exercise science community to provide information and promoting/educating about the practice of safe physical exercise. The main aim of this review was 1) to define the main concepts related to COVID-19 and physical exercise, to better understand and interpret the results of studies ( Table 1 ) and; 2) to evaluate the two-month effect of the pandemic on the scientific information production concerning COVID-19 and PA ( Table 2 , Table 3 ). Table 4 presents the main applications of the most discussed concepts on physical exercise vs. COVID-19 during the pandemic regarding scientific information production linked to the PubMed database.

Table 4

Summary common keywords and recommendations about physical exercise and COVID-19.

Regarding the main concepts and their respective definitions ( Table 1 ), when analyzing the articles, the following terms: PA, physical exercise, physical fitness, home-based exercise, physical inactivity, pandemic, COVID-19, quarantine, isolation, social distancing, and immune system were highlighted. The main conclusion gained from this analysis is that physical inactivity increases during periods of pandemic and social isolation. 43 , 102 However, maintaining social distance 105 as well as seeking alternatives for physical exercise, outdoors and at home, and maintaining social distance, decreases the possibility of disease infection while improving health status. 98 , 106

When the two-month impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on scientific information production was assessed, the article production increased by 76% from 12 articles published on 04/26/2020 to 50 articles published on 06/26/2020. The main form of scientific information production were letters ( n  = 11, 18%) and editorial ( n  = 10, 16%). However, in the first literature search carried out on 04/26/2020, no original research publication was found. The lack of an original research article was expected, because the pandemic is new, and the scientific laboratories are closed due to the pandemic. Therefore, conducting original research aiming to investigate COVID-19 and physical exercise is not possible. In the second literature search completed on 06/26/2020, 15% ( n  = 9), 62 original articles for the two months period were found. Regarding the country with the most original scientific research and information production, United States (13%), United Kingdom (13%), Brazil (11%), China (10%), Italy (9%), and Australia (8%) were the most frequent.

These results denote a progressive and strong growth in the literature concerning COVID-19 and physical exercise. This growth reflects the global scientific community’s ability to mobilize quickly to better understand the importance of physical exercise and to increase information and knowledge for coping with the pandemic. Moreover, the country distribution of the scientific information production of articles concerning COVID-19 and physical exercise reflects the epicenters of the pandemic around the world. The ability to observe the distribution of the number of confirmed worldwide COVID-19 cases as compiled by the WHO are, approximately when the article was finalized (06/20)/currently (03/24/21) – total deaths (world – 2,719,163): Americas (4,816,79/54,249,753 – 1,306,186), Europe (2,638,903/42,870,334 – 935,703), Eastern Mediterranean (1,006,279/7,199,413 – 154.365), South-East Asia (710,455/14,287,370 – 215,530), Africa (268,102/3,013,815 – 76,413), and Western Pacific (211,774/1,797,635 – 30,953). 92

Regard scientific information production highlighted below is a discussion to assist in the understanding of conclusions concerning COVID-19 and the practice of physical exercise. Middleton et al. 46 concluded that the implementation and delivery of telehealth exercise programs for older adults with functional impairments during periods of social distancing and quarantine are feasible. Phillipou et al. 48 reported low levels of physical exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australian people and concluded that mental and physical health impacts of changed eating and exercise behaviors in the general population need monitoring for potential long-term consequences. Lesser and Nienhuis 49 showed that Canadian physically inactive people who spent more time engaged in the outdoor physical exercise had lower anxiety than those who spent less time in outdoor physical exercise. Health strategies were concluded to combat physical inactivity and are essential for improving well-being. Ammar et al. 51 showed that COVID-19 home confinement had a negative effect on all physical exercise intensity levels. Daily sitting time increased from 5 to 8 h/day. Zhang et al. 16 concluded that the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic indirectly affected emotions by negatively affecting sleep quality. A possible strategy for improving mental health includes performing daily physical exercise and proper sleep. Goethals et al. 52 verified that the COVID-19 pandemic affected before quarantine measures, the number of seniors attending group physical exercise programs. Communication was deemed an important necessity for older adults to maintain physical exercise at home. Tornese et al. 56 reported that glycemic control of type 1 diabetes mellitus in 13 adolescents using a hybrid closed loop system did not worsen during the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and found further improved glycemic control in individual who continued physical exercise during quarantine. Constandt et al. 59 showed that Belgium individuals who were highly physically active before COVID-19, were 55 years and older, having low education levels, were physically active with friends or in a sports club, and who were not using online tools to exercise, self-reported exercising less during the lockdown. Public health authorities should consider how to encourage individuals to become physical exercise during a lockdown. Pillay et al. 61 showed that 56% of South African elite and semi-elite athletes ( n  = 692, 67% males) expected to return to sport (training and competitions), in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, after 1–6 months. Sixty-one percent trained alone, daily (61%) at moderate intensity (58%), and for 30–60 min (72%). During leisure time, athletes preferred sedentary above physical active behavior. Fifty-two percent of the athletes felt depressed and 55% required motivation to keep physically active. Guerrero et al. 68 examined physical exercise profile from Canadian children (5–11 years old) or youth (12–17 years old). Characteristics associated with non-adherence to physical exercise recommendation(s) included the low parental perceived capability to restrict screen time and capability to support children’s sleep and decreases in children’s and youth’s outdoor physical exercise/sport and increases in sleep duration since the COVID-19 outbreak began. Antunes et al. 74 using a cross-sectional design assessed the lifestyle habits and mood state disorders in Portuguese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Strategies for promoting well-being during social isolation should consider psychological dimensions and lifestyle habits. Higher values for anxiety were found in the 18–34 years-old group. Liu et al. 95 concluded that six weeks of respiratory rehabilitation improved respiratory function, quality of life, and anxiety status of elderly patients with COVID-19. However, little improvement in depression were reported. Shaw et al. 96 reported the use of a face mask during vigorous exercise had no noticeable detrimental effect on blood or muscle oxygenation or on the physical performance of healthy young people.

When searching with the terms physical exercise and COVID-19 and focusing only on systematic reviews, 20 articles were found, of which 8 articles were relevant according to this study’s aim. 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 The central themes were: recovery of physical function and fitness after coronavirus infection; staying physically active during the quarantine to mitigate COVID-19; psychological health and physical exercise levels during the COVID-19 pandemic; interventions to address anxiety, depression, and stress during COVID-19 social distancing and quarantine; and recommendations for maintaining active lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, physical function and physical fitness are impaired after infection by COVID-19. Deficiencies and damage may persist for 1 to 2 years after infection. Although physical exercise can improve physical function and fitness after infection, more research is needed to determine its effectiveness in people recovering from similar conditions and infections. 97 In addition, early rehabilitation associated with COVID-19 must be provided to patients who needed hospitalization; people with restricted mobility due to quarantine should receive physical exercise programs to reduce the risk of frailty, sarcopenia, cognitive decline, and depression. 104 Telerehabilitation is an alternative for people needing to stay at home. 99

Finally, to facilitate the understanding of the current panorama of main keywords, applications, and recommendations concerning COVID-19 and physical exercise, Table 4 below was developed.

Our main aim was to conduct a review about physical exercise and COVID-19 on the PubMed database. Our research is relevant because we show the dynamics of scientific production on the COVID-19, in a situation so unique as a pandemic. It was possible to observe that the scientific production on COVID-19 and physical exercise has been growing during the pandemic, being almost a “space race” and that aroused the interest of the world scientific community given the gravity of the situation even today (04/16/2021) On that date, when we crossed the terms COVID-19 (AND) and physical exercise, n  = 1,624 articles were found, with all production practically concentrated between the years 2019 to 2021. In general lines, the practice of physical exercise is essential, to improve and/or maintain physical and mental health, in situations as serious from the point of view of public health as the one we are experiencing as health professionals, scientists and people.

Final considerations and perspectives

Information presented in this review supports the general recommendations concern maintaining healthy habits during the COVID-19 outbreak. These recommendations include (a) regular practiced physical exercise (b) and good diet and (c) sleep habits. Maintaining physical fitness relates to both good physical health and mental health, to better cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. These recommendations apply to all people, of all ages and nationalities, and individuals with co-morbidities. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO and CDC are encouraging individuals to remain or become physically active and for the scientific community/educators to disseminate information and guidance for surviving the COVID-19 pandemic. Proper health/lifestyle information, quality of life, and physical exercise whether initiating or continuing regular physical exercise participation to maintain physical and mental health and wellbeing 93 , 94 are essential.

The general pandemic recommendations for people are to stay at home, wear a face mask, and maintain social distance. Though this conduct is essential to control the spread of the virus, this same behavior has a downside on individual health and quality of life, and on maintaining physical exercise levels. The WHO 93 has acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has conditioned many people to stay at home and sit more than usual, becoming even more physically inactive, which compounds the already global physical inactivity pandemic while adding to the COVID-19 pandemic. 14 , 39 In recognition of this concern, the WHO has developed a campaign titled Be Active. The program is interesting and incorporates breaks in sitting time by performing 5 min of light intensity physical exercise performed in the home. Exercise examples include walking, dancing, and stretching. WHO provides additional support for physical exercise improving physical and mental health by reviewing a few other exercise health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, maintain/control/loss of body mass, reducing heart disease risk, stroke, type 2 diabetes and various types of cancer; conditions that could increase susceptibility to the most severe version of COVID-19.

Submission statement

The work described has not been published previously, it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors, and, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere including electronically in the same form.

Authors’ contributions

Conceptualization, R.L.V.; Methodology, R.L.V.; Validation, R.L.V.; Formal analysis, R.L.V.; Investigation, R.L.V.; Resources, R.L.V.; Data curation, R.L.V.; Writing—original draft preparation, M.S.A.; R.B.V.; P.T.N.; B.K.; C.R.V.C.; A.A.A.; P.G.; C.A.B.L.; Writing—review and editing, M.S.A.; R.B.V.; P.T.N.; B.K.; C.R.V.C.; A.A.A.; P.G.; C.A.B.L.; Visualization, R.L.V.; Supervision, R.L.V..; Project administration, R.L.V.; R.L.V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript

Conflict of interest

Authors have no competing interests to declare.

Acknowledgments

RLV is a productivity fellowship at the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo (FAPES) agency (Edital Nº 18/2018-Bolsa Pesquisador Capixaba).

Staying Active During a Global Pandemic

Finding creative and safe ways to exercise.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials, medical professionals, researchers, and messaging from the media have encouraged people of all ages to regularly wash hands, practice social distancing, wear a mask when advised, and to get outdoors and engage in physical activity.

Outside physical activity during a pandemic?

On the surface, this guidance seems counterintuitive to county- and state-wide stay at home orders. In Pennsylvania, a three-phrase matrix is used to determine when counties and/or regions can ease restrictions on work and social interactions. Across the red (high restrictions), yellow (moderate restrictions), and green (low restrictions) phases, outdoor recreation and physical activities are encouraged as long as they done with social distancing in mind (e.g., at least 6 feet away from the next person). People have been encouraged to walk, jog, run, cycle, and enjoy family hikes and water-related activities such as swimming and kayaking (as long as parks and waterways remain open).

The reason behind this is because physical activity is one of the most important behaviors that people of all ages can do to improve and/or maintain good mental and physical health. The executive summary of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans states “Physical activity fosters normal growth and development and can make people feel better, function better, sleep better, and reduce the risk of a large number of chronic diseases.” To experience these benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) to 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Adults should also do muscle strengthening activities on two or more days of the week. Preschool-aged children (ages 3-5 years) should be physically active throughout the day, and children and adolescents (age 6-17 years) should do 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (aerobic, muscle and bone strengthening) per day. Importantly, physical activity is also encouraged for adults with chronic conditions or disabilities as well as pregnant and postpartum women.

However, there is growing confusion over where people should and should not engage in exercise as well as whether wearing a mask is required.

A key concern with exercising indoors is the fast and easy spread of COVID-19. Indoor gyms, yoga studios, and recreation facilities have experienced restricted access and closures across the country because the virus can easily spread through air via respiratory droplets and on surfaces that are frequently used such as weights and machines. For example, a recent study conducted in South Korea identified 112 COVID-19 cases associated with fitness classes in 12 different sports facilities. The authors of the study suggested that key characteristics that may elevate transmission of the virus among group members include large class size, small spaces, and high intensity of the workouts which can cause more dense diffusion of isolated droplets. In short, people breathe more rapidly and deeper during an intense workout and so they expel higher numbers of droplets. These droplets are said to remain airborne for up to three hours which makes the potential for spread in gyms and fitness facilities a primary concern.

As states have begun to ease restrictions, some indoor gyms/studios/recreational facilities have opened while other facilities have been told to close as quickly as they opened. For example, on June 30, 2020 Mountainside Fitness in Arizona announced a plan to sue Governor Duecy over the recent closure order. The CEO, Tom Hatten, criticized this decision because of the lack of evidence that the virus is spreading in health clubs across the state, and because this executive order did not include other indoor spaces such as restaurants and casinos that may also spread the virus.

In Pennsylvania, Governor Wolf and Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine expanded the mask-wearing order , effective July 1, 2020, such that “masks must be worn whenever anyone leaves home.”

So what does this mean for physical activity generally? Are people required to wear a mask when they are exercising? The order states that “face coverings are required if you are outdoors and unable to consistently maintain a distance of six feet from individuals who are not a member of your household.” The main factor is the distance … if one can engage in outdoor activities and keep a steady six feet from others, there may not be a need to wear a face covering. However, if a park, playground, sidewalk, or trail is busy, it is a good idea to have a face covering in the event that the crowds change or social distancing is no longer an option.

How does wearing a mask work in youth sports? This is a challenging question for parents, coaches, and players, and there is some ambiguity with the guidelines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that face coverings may be difficult for players to wear while engaged in a sport, but strongly supports their use by coaches, parents, officials, and spectators. To reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, youth sports organizations should keep in mind the CDC’s guiding principles for level of risk whereby the lowest risk activities are skill-building drills or conditioning where social distancing is in place and the highest risk activities involve full competition between teams from the same or different geographical locations. If an organization cannot keep safety measures in place during competition (e.g., maintaining social distancing by keeping youth six feet apart at all times) and wearing a mask is not an option, the organization may need to roll-back on procedures to reduce risks of exposure.

Despite these challenges, staying physically active during this pandemic is obligatory for everyone’s overall health and well-being. First, physical activity can help to boost the immune system . Research evidence shows that regular moderate-to-vigorous exercise can help the body to fight off viruses, including COVID-19, by mobilizing billions of immune cells in the body to “take on” infections that are trying to gain a foothold.

Second, exercise can help to prevent weight gain . Because self-quarantine means more time at home (including working and online school for children and young adults), people are sitting more and moving less. A recent study published in Obesity Research & Clinical Practice showed that 91% of the sample stated they spent more time at home than before the pandemic, and 22% have gained 5-10 pounds over the past several months. The majority of the participants also reported eating and snacking more often and eating in response to stress and boredom. Because regular exercise is an important factor in maintaining healthy weight, it may help people combat weight gain associated with these self-quarantine eating behaviors. But this means making a commitment to get up and go … and it may be surprising to some that this means more exercise than expected as upwards of 275 minutes/week of exercise may be needed to regulate weight.

Third, physical activity can improve mood. It can help people deal with the fear, anxiety, stress, depression, boredom, and isolation that is associated with living during a global pandemic and the uncertainty of its ending. There is also evidence that exercise can build emotional resilience , or one’s ability to adapt to stressful situations and crises (such as a global pandemic!)

Thus remaining active during this pandemic is essential for physical and mental health. However, the greatest risk of COVID-19 is exposure, so it is critical to find creative ways to stay active each day. For example:

• Move indoor fitness or yoga classes to the outdoors … enjoy the warm weather during an early morning exercise class at a local park or parking lot of a studio (while practicing social distancing and limiting class size of course).
• Take the opportunity to explore the outdoors. Consider visiting a new park or trail. In Pennsylvania, state parks include over 283,000 acres – more than enough space to be active and social distance!
• Get help from a dog … more time at home means more time with a furry friend. Take mini-breaks from work or household activities and walk the dog around the neighborhood or play in the yard.
• Create an obstacle course. If young children are at home, consider setting up toys and maybe the lawn sprinkler … kids will enjoy running through the obstacle course (and maybe even race the parents for some friendly competition!)
• Consider virtual workouts – numerous organizations offer online memberships and share workout videos and livestream classes for many different activities from weightlifting to Zumba to yoga.
• Enjoy a dip in the pool or lake. Take advantage of the warmer weather and consider a water workout – from swimming laps to treading water to water skiing!
• There’s an app for that … there are numerous activity apps available on the market to personalize a workout. The FitOn app is one of the more popular apps that offers a wide variety of workouts for people of all skill levels. The app is free and does not require additional equipment.

With the long days at home and high stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding the motivation and family support to stay active will offer many rewards. So get up and go … but don’t forget to bring a face cover or mask along with you!

Article Authors

Article topics.

How to Write About Coronavirus in a College Essay

Students can share how they navigated life during the coronavirus pandemic in a full-length essay or an optional supplement.

Writing About COVID-19 in College Essays

Getty Images

Experts say students should be honest and not limit themselves to merely their experiences with the pandemic.

The global impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, means colleges and prospective students alike are in for an admissions cycle like no other. Both face unprecedented challenges and questions as they grapple with their respective futures amid the ongoing fallout of the pandemic.

Colleges must examine applicants without the aid of standardized test scores for many – a factor that prompted many schools to go test-optional for now . Even grades, a significant component of a college application, may be hard to interpret with some high schools adopting pass-fail classes last spring due to the pandemic. Major college admissions factors are suddenly skewed.

"I can't help but think other (admissions) factors are going to matter more," says Ethan Sawyer, founder of the College Essay Guy, a website that offers free and paid essay-writing resources.

College essays and letters of recommendation , Sawyer says, are likely to carry more weight than ever in this admissions cycle. And many essays will likely focus on how the pandemic shaped students' lives throughout an often tumultuous 2020.

But before writing a college essay focused on the coronavirus, students should explore whether it's the best topic for them.

Writing About COVID-19 for a College Application

Much of daily life has been colored by the coronavirus. Virtual learning is the norm at many colleges and high schools, many extracurriculars have vanished and social lives have stalled for students complying with measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"For some young people, the pandemic took away what they envisioned as their senior year," says Robert Alexander, dean of admissions, financial aid and enrollment management at the University of Rochester in New York. "Maybe that's a spot on a varsity athletic team or the lead role in the fall play. And it's OK for them to mourn what should have been and what they feel like they lost, but more important is how are they making the most of the opportunities they do have?"

That question, Alexander says, is what colleges want answered if students choose to address COVID-19 in their college essay.

But the question of whether a student should write about the coronavirus is tricky. The answer depends largely on the student.

"In general, I don't think students should write about COVID-19 in their main personal statement for their application," Robin Miller, master college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a college counseling company, wrote in an email.

"Certainly, there may be exceptions to this based on a student's individual experience, but since the personal essay is the main place in the application where the student can really allow their voice to be heard and share insight into who they are as an individual, there are likely many other topics they can choose to write about that are more distinctive and unique than COVID-19," Miller says.

Opinions among admissions experts vary on whether to write about the likely popular topic of the pandemic.

"If your essay communicates something positive, unique, and compelling about you in an interesting and eloquent way, go for it," Carolyn Pippen, principal college admissions counselor at IvyWise, wrote in an email. She adds that students shouldn't be dissuaded from writing about a topic merely because it's common, noting that "topics are bound to repeat, no matter how hard we try to avoid it."

Above all, she urges honesty.

"If your experience within the context of the pandemic has been truly unique, then write about that experience, and the standing out will take care of itself," Pippen says. "If your experience has been generally the same as most other students in your context, then trying to find a unique angle can easily cross the line into exploiting a tragedy, or at least appearing as though you have."

But focusing entirely on the pandemic can limit a student to a single story and narrow who they are in an application, Sawyer says. "There are so many wonderful possibilities for what you can say about yourself outside of your experience within the pandemic."

He notes that passions, strengths, career interests and personal identity are among the multitude of essay topic options available to applicants and encourages them to probe their values to help determine the topic that matters most to them – and write about it.

That doesn't mean the pandemic experience has to be ignored if applicants feel the need to write about it.

Writing About Coronavirus in Main and Supplemental Essays

Students can choose to write a full-length college essay on the coronavirus or summarize their experience in a shorter form.

To help students explain how the pandemic affected them, The Common App has added an optional section to address this topic. Applicants have 250 words to describe their pandemic experience and the personal and academic impact of COVID-19.

"That's not a trick question, and there's no right or wrong answer," Alexander says. Colleges want to know, he adds, how students navigated the pandemic, how they prioritized their time, what responsibilities they took on and what they learned along the way.

If students can distill all of the above information into 250 words, there's likely no need to write about it in a full-length college essay, experts say. And applicants whose lives were not heavily altered by the pandemic may even choose to skip the optional COVID-19 question.

"This space is best used to discuss hardship and/or significant challenges that the student and/or the student's family experienced as a result of COVID-19 and how they have responded to those difficulties," Miller notes. Using the section to acknowledge a lack of impact, she adds, "could be perceived as trite and lacking insight, despite the good intentions of the applicant."

To guard against this lack of awareness, Sawyer encourages students to tap someone they trust to review their writing , whether it's the 250-word Common App response or the full-length essay.

Experts tend to agree that the short-form approach to this as an essay topic works better, but there are exceptions. And if a student does have a coronavirus story that he or she feels must be told, Alexander encourages the writer to be authentic in the essay.

"My advice for an essay about COVID-19 is the same as my advice about an essay for any topic – and that is, don't write what you think we want to read or hear," Alexander says. "Write what really changed you and that story that now is yours and yours alone to tell."

Sawyer urges students to ask themselves, "What's the sentence that only I can write?" He also encourages students to remember that the pandemic is only a chapter of their lives and not the whole book.

Miller, who cautions against writing a full-length essay on the coronavirus, says that if students choose to do so they should have a conversation with their high school counselor about whether that's the right move. And if students choose to proceed with COVID-19 as a topic, she says they need to be clear, detailed and insightful about what they learned and how they adapted along the way.

"Approaching the essay in this manner will provide important balance while demonstrating personal growth and vulnerability," Miller says.

Pippen encourages students to remember that they are in an unprecedented time for college admissions.

"It is important to keep in mind with all of these (admission) factors that no colleges have ever had to consider them this way in the selection process, if at all," Pippen says. "They have had very little time to calibrate their evaluations of different application components within their offices, let alone across institutions. This means that colleges will all be handling the admissions process a little bit differently, and their approaches may even evolve over the course of the admissions cycle."

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Read these 12 moving essays about life during coronavirus

Artists, novelists, critics, and essayists are writing the first draft of history.

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The world is grappling with an invisible, deadly enemy, trying to understand how to live with the threat posed by a virus . For some writers, the only way forward is to put pen to paper, trying to conceptualize and document what it feels like to continue living as countries are under lockdown and regular life seems to have ground to a halt.

So as the coronavirus pandemic has stretched around the world, it’s sparked a crop of diary entries and essays that describe how life has changed. Novelists, critics, artists, and journalists have put words to the feelings many are experiencing. The result is a first draft of how we’ll someday remember this time, filled with uncertainty and pain and fear as well as small moments of hope and humanity.

At the New York Review of Books, Ali Bhutto writes that in Karachi, Pakistan, the government-imposed curfew due to the virus is “eerily reminiscent of past military clampdowns”:

Beneath the quiet calm lies a sense that society has been unhinged and that the usual rules no longer apply. Small groups of pedestrians look on from the shadows, like an audience watching a spectacle slowly unfolding. People pause on street corners and in the shade of trees, under the watchful gaze of the paramilitary forces and the police.

His essay concludes with the sobering note that “in the minds of many, Covid-19 is just another life-threatening hazard in a city that stumbles from one crisis to another.”

Writing from Chattanooga, novelist Jamie Quatro documents the mixed ways her neighbors have been responding to the threat, and the frustration of conflicting direction, or no direction at all, from local, state, and federal leaders:

Whiplash, trying to keep up with who’s ordering what. We’re already experiencing enough chaos without this back-and-forth. Why didn’t the federal government issue a nationwide shelter-in-place at the get-go, the way other countries did? What happens when one state’s shelter-in-place ends, while others continue? Do states still under quarantine close their borders? We are still one nation, not fifty individual countries. Right?

Award-winning photojournalist Alessio Mamo, quarantined with his partner Marta in Sicily after she tested positive for the virus, accompanies his photographs in the Guardian of their confinement with a reflection on being confined :

The doctors asked me to take a second test, but again I tested negative. Perhaps I’m immune? The days dragged on in my apartment, in black and white, like my photos. Sometimes we tried to smile, imagining that I was asymptomatic, because I was the virus. Our smiles seemed to bring good news. My mother left hospital, but I won’t be able to see her for weeks. Marta started breathing well again, and so did I. I would have liked to photograph my country in the midst of this emergency, the battles that the doctors wage on the frontline, the hospitals pushed to their limits, Italy on its knees fighting an invisible enemy. That enemy, a day in March, knocked on my door instead.

In the New York Times Magazine, deputy editor Jessica Lustig writes with devastating clarity about her family’s life in Brooklyn while her husband battled the virus, weeks before most people began taking the threat seriously:

At the door of the clinic, we stand looking out at two older women chatting outside the doorway, oblivious. Do I wave them away? Call out that they should get far away, go home, wash their hands, stay inside? Instead we just stand there, awkwardly, until they move on. Only then do we step outside to begin the long three-block walk home. I point out the early magnolia, the forsythia. T says he is cold. The untrimmed hairs on his neck, under his beard, are white. The few people walking past us on the sidewalk don’t know that we are visitors from the future. A vision, a premonition, a walking visitation. This will be them: Either T, in the mask, or — if they’re lucky — me, tending to him.

Essayist Leslie Jamison writes in the New York Review of Books about being shut away alone in her New York City apartment with her 2-year-old daughter since she became sick:

The virus. Its sinewy, intimate name. What does it feel like in my body today? Shivering under blankets. A hot itch behind the eyes. Three sweatshirts in the middle of the day. My daughter trying to pull another blanket over my body with her tiny arms. An ache in the muscles that somehow makes it hard to lie still. This loss of taste has become a kind of sensory quarantine. It’s as if the quarantine keeps inching closer and closer to my insides. First I lost the touch of other bodies; then I lost the air; now I’ve lost the taste of bananas. Nothing about any of these losses is particularly unique. I’ve made a schedule so I won’t go insane with the toddler. Five days ago, I wrote Walk/Adventure! on it, next to a cut-out illustration of a tiger—as if we’d see tigers on our walks. It was good to keep possibility alive.

At Literary Hub, novelist Heidi Pitlor writes about the elastic nature of time during her family’s quarantine in Massachusetts:

During a shutdown, the things that mark our days—commuting to work, sending our kids to school, having a drink with friends—vanish and time takes on a flat, seamless quality. Without some self-imposed structure, it’s easy to feel a little untethered. A friend recently posted on Facebook: “For those who have lost track, today is Blursday the fortyteenth of Maprilay.” ... Giving shape to time is especially important now, when the future is so shapeless. We do not know whether the virus will continue to rage for weeks or months or, lord help us, on and off for years. We do not know when we will feel safe again. And so many of us, minus those who are gifted at compartmentalization or denial, remain largely captive to fear. We may stay this way if we do not create at least the illusion of movement in our lives, our long days spent with ourselves or partners or families.

Novelist Lauren Groff writes at the New York Review of Books about trying to escape the prison of her fears while sequestered at home in Gainesville, Florida:

Some people have imaginations sparked only by what they can see; I blame this blinkered empiricism for the parks overwhelmed with people, the bars, until a few nights ago, thickly thronged. My imagination is the opposite. I fear everything invisible to me. From the enclosure of my house, I am afraid of the suffering that isn’t present before me, the people running out of money and food or drowning in the fluid in their lungs, the deaths of health-care workers now growing ill while performing their duties. I fear the federal government, which the right wing has so—intentionally—weakened that not only is it insufficient to help its people, it is actively standing in help’s way. I fear we won’t sufficiently punish the right. I fear leaving the house and spreading the disease. I fear what this time of fear is doing to my children, their imaginations, and their souls.

At ArtForum , Berlin-based critic and writer Kristian Vistrup Madsen reflects on martinis, melancholia, and Finnish artist Jaakko Pallasvuo’s 2018 graphic novel Retreat , in which three young people exile themselves in the woods:

In melancholia, the shape of what is ending, and its temporality, is sprawling and incomprehensible. The ambivalence makes it hard to bear. The world of Retreat is rendered in lush pink and purple watercolors, which dissolve into wild and messy abstractions. In apocalypse, the divisions established in genesis bleed back out. My own Corona-retreat is similarly soft, color-field like, each day a blurred succession of quarantinis, YouTube–yoga, and televized press conferences. As restrictions mount, so does abstraction. For now, I’m still rooting for love to save the world.

At the Paris Review , Matt Levin writes about reading Virginia Woolf’s novel The Waves during quarantine:

A retreat, a quarantine, a sickness—they simultaneously distort and clarify, curtail and expand. It is an ideal state in which to read literature with a reputation for difficulty and inaccessibility, those hermetic books shorn of the handholds of conventional plot or characterization or description. A novel like Virginia Woolf’s The Waves is perfect for the state of interiority induced by quarantine—a story of three men and three women, meeting after the death of a mutual friend, told entirely in the overlapping internal monologues of the six, interspersed only with sections of pure, achingly beautiful descriptions of the natural world, a day’s procession and recession of light and waves. The novel is, in my mind’s eye, a perfectly spherical object. It is translucent and shimmering and infinitely fragile, prone to shatter at the slightest disturbance. It is not a book that can be read in snatches on the subway—it demands total absorption. Though it revels in a stark emotional nakedness, the book remains aloof, remote in its own deep self-absorption.

In an essay for the Financial Times, novelist Arundhati Roy writes with anger about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anemic response to the threat, but also offers a glimmer of hope for the future:

Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.

From Boston, Nora Caplan-Bricker writes in The Point about the strange contraction of space under quarantine, in which a friend in Beirut is as close as the one around the corner in the same city:

It’s a nice illusion—nice to feel like we’re in it together, even if my real world has shrunk to one person, my husband, who sits with his laptop in the other room. It’s nice in the same way as reading those essays that reframe social distancing as solidarity. “We must begin to see the negative space as clearly as the positive, to know what we don’t do is also brilliant and full of love,” the poet Anne Boyer wrote on March 10th, the day that Massachusetts declared a state of emergency. If you squint, you could almost make sense of this quarantine as an effort to flatten, along with the curve, the distinctions we make between our bonds with others. Right now, I care for my neighbor in the same way I demonstrate love for my mother: in all instances, I stay away. And in moments this month, I have loved strangers with an intensity that is new to me. On March 14th, the Saturday night after the end of life as we knew it, I went out with my dog and found the street silent: no lines for restaurants, no children on bicycles, no couples strolling with little cups of ice cream. It had taken the combined will of thousands of people to deliver such a sudden and complete emptiness. I felt so grateful, and so bereft.

And on his own website, musician and artist David Byrne writes about rediscovering the value of working for collective good , saying that “what is happening now is an opportunity to learn how to change our behavior”:

In emergencies, citizens can suddenly cooperate and collaborate. Change can happen. We’re going to need to work together as the effects of climate change ramp up. In order for capitalism to survive in any form, we will have to be a little more socialist. Here is an opportunity for us to see things differently — to see that we really are all connected — and adjust our behavior accordingly. Are we willing to do this? Is this moment an opportunity to see how truly interdependent we all are? To live in a world that is different and better than the one we live in now? We might be too far down the road to test every asymptomatic person, but a change in our mindsets, in how we view our neighbors, could lay the groundwork for the collective action we’ll need to deal with other global crises. The time to see how connected we all are is now.

The portrait these writers paint of a world under quarantine is multifaceted. Our worlds have contracted to the confines of our homes, and yet in some ways we’re more connected than ever to one another. We feel fear and boredom, anger and gratitude, frustration and strange peace. Uncertainty drives us to find metaphors and images that will let us wrap our minds around what is happening.

Yet there’s no single “what” that is happening. Everyone is contending with the pandemic and its effects from different places and in different ways. Reading others’ experiences — even the most frightening ones — can help alleviate the loneliness and dread, a little, and remind us that what we’re going through is both unique and shared by all.

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Covid 19 Essay in English

Essay on Covid -19: In a very short amount of time, coronavirus has spread globally. It has had an enormous impact on people's lives, economy, and societies all around the world, affecting every country. Governments have had to take severe measures to try and contain the pandemic. The virus has altered our way of life in many ways, including its effects on our health and our economy. Here are a few sample essays on ‘CoronaVirus’.

100 Words Essay on Covid 19

200 words essay on covid 19, 500 words essay on covid 19.

COVID-19 or Corona Virus is a novel coronavirus that was first identified in 2019. It is similar to other coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, but it is more contagious and has caused more severe respiratory illness in people who have been infected. The novel coronavirus became a global pandemic in a very short period of time. It has affected lives, economies and societies across the world, leaving no country untouched. The virus has caused governments to take drastic measures to try and contain it. From health implications to economic and social ramifications, COVID-19 impacted every part of our lives. It has been more than 2 years since the pandemic hit and the world is still recovering from its effects.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the world has been impacted in a number of ways. For one, the global economy has taken a hit as businesses have been forced to close their doors. This has led to widespread job losses and an increase in poverty levels around the world. Additionally, countries have had to impose strict travel restrictions in an attempt to contain the virus, which has resulted in a decrease in tourism and international trade. Furthermore, the pandemic has put immense pressure on healthcare systems globally, as hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients suffering from the virus. Lastly, the outbreak has led to a general feeling of anxiety and uncertainty, as people are fearful of contracting the disease.

My Experience of COVID-19

I still remember how abruptly colleges and schools shut down in March 2020. I was a college student at that time and I was under the impression that everything would go back to normal in a few weeks. I could not have been more wrong. The situation only got worse every week and the government had to impose a lockdown. There were so many restrictions in place. For example, we had to wear face masks whenever we left the house, and we could only go out for essential errands. Restaurants and shops were only allowed to operate at take-out capacity, and many businesses were shut down.

In the current scenario, coronavirus is dominating all aspects of our lives. The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc upon people’s lives, altering the way we live and work in a very short amount of time. It has revolutionised how we think about health care, education, and even social interaction. This virus has had long-term implications on our society, including its impact on mental health, economic stability, and global politics. But we as individuals can help to mitigate these effects by taking personal responsibility to protect themselves and those around them from infection.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Education

The outbreak of coronavirus has had a significant impact on education systems around the world. In China, where the virus originated, all schools and universities were closed for several weeks in an effort to contain the spread of the disease. Many other countries have followed suit, either closing schools altogether or suspending classes for a period of time.

This has resulted in a major disruption to the education of millions of students. Some have been able to continue their studies online, but many have not had access to the internet or have not been able to afford the costs associated with it. This has led to a widening of the digital divide between those who can afford to continue their education online and those who cannot.

The closure of schools has also had a negative impact on the mental health of many students. With no face-to-face contact with friends and teachers, some students have felt isolated and anxious. This has been compounded by the worry and uncertainty surrounding the virus itself.

The situation with coronavirus has improved and schools have been reopened but students are still catching up with the gap of 2 years that the pandemic created. In the meantime, governments and educational institutions are working together to find ways to support students and ensure that they are able to continue their education despite these difficult circumstances.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Economy

The outbreak of the coronavirus has had a significant impact on the global economy. The virus, which originated in China, has spread to over two hundred countries, resulting in widespread panic and a decrease in global trade. As a result of the outbreak, many businesses have been forced to close their doors, leading to a rise in unemployment. In addition, the stock market has taken a severe hit.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Health

The effects that coronavirus has on one's health are still being studied and researched as the virus continues to spread throughout the world. However, some of the potential effects on health that have been observed thus far include respiratory problems, fever, and coughing. In severe cases, pneumonia, kidney failure, and death can occur. It is important for people who think they may have been exposed to the virus to seek medical attention immediately so that they can be treated properly and avoid any serious complications. There is no specific cure or treatment for coronavirus at this time, but there are ways to help ease symptoms and prevent the virus from spreading.

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

• Construction
• Entertainment
• Manufacturing
• Information Technology

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

GIS officer work on various GIS software to conduct a study and gather spatial and non-spatial information. GIS experts update the GIS data and maintain it. The databases include aerial or satellite imagery, latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, and manually digitized images of maps. In a career as GIS expert, one is responsible for creating online and mobile maps.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Database Architect

If you are intrigued by the programming world and are interested in developing communications networks then a career as database architect may be a good option for you. Data architect roles and responsibilities include building design models for data communication networks. Wide Area Networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), and intranets are included in the database networks. It is expected that database architects will have in-depth knowledge of a company's business to develop a network to fulfil the requirements of the organisation. Stay tuned as we look at the larger picture and give you more information on what is db architecture, why you should pursue database architecture, what to expect from such a degree and what your job opportunities will be after graduation. Here, we will be discussing how to become a data architect. Students can visit NIT Trichy , IIT Kharagpur , JMI New Delhi . 

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Product manager.

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Operations Manager

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Stock Analyst

Individuals who opt for a career as a stock analyst examine the company's investments makes decisions and keep track of financial securities. The nature of such investments will differ from one business to the next. Individuals in the stock analyst career use data mining to forecast a company's profits and revenues, advise clients on whether to buy or sell, participate in seminars, and discussing financial matters with executives and evaluate annual reports.

A Researcher is a professional who is responsible for collecting data and information by reviewing the literature and conducting experiments and surveys. He or she uses various methodological processes to provide accurate data and information that is utilised by academicians and other industry professionals. Here, we will discuss what is a researcher, the researcher's salary, types of researchers.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Safety Manager

A Safety Manager is a professional responsible for employee’s safety at work. He or she plans, implements and oversees the company’s employee safety. A Safety Manager ensures compliance and adherence to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines.

Conservation Architect

A Conservation Architect is a professional responsible for conserving and restoring buildings or monuments having a historic value. He or she applies techniques to document and stabilise the object’s state without any further damage. A Conservation Architect restores the monuments and heritage buildings to bring them back to their original state.

Structural Engineer

A Structural Engineer designs buildings, bridges, and other related structures. He or she analyzes the structures and makes sure the structures are strong enough to be used by the people. A career as a Structural Engineer requires working in the construction process. It comes under the civil engineering discipline. A Structure Engineer creates structural models with the help of computer-aided design software. 

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Field Surveyor

Are you searching for a Field Surveyor Job Description? A Field Surveyor is a professional responsible for conducting field surveys for various places or geographical conditions. He or she collects the required data and information as per the instructions given by senior officials. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Pathologist

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Veterinary Doctor

Speech therapist, gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Are you searching for an ‘Anatomist job description’? An Anatomist is a research professional who applies the laws of biological science to determine the ability of bodies of various living organisms including animals and humans to regenerate the damaged or destroyed organs. If you want to know what does an anatomist do, then read the entire article, where we will answer all your questions.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story. 

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Individuals who opt for a career as a reporter may often be at work on national holidays and festivities. He or she pitches various story ideas and covers news stories in risky situations. Students can pursue a BMC (Bachelor of Mass Communication) , B.M.M. (Bachelor of Mass Media) , or  MAJMC (MA in Journalism and Mass Communication) to become a reporter. While we sit at home reporters travel to locations to collect information that carries a news value.  

Corporate Executive

Are you searching for a Corporate Executive job description? A Corporate Executive role comes with administrative duties. He or she provides support to the leadership of the organisation. A Corporate Executive fulfils the business purpose and ensures its financial stability. In this article, we are going to discuss how to become corporate executive.

Multimedia Specialist

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Process Development Engineer

The Process Development Engineers design, implement, manufacture, mine, and other production systems using technical knowledge and expertise in the industry. They use computer modeling software to test technologies and machinery. An individual who is opting career as Process Development Engineer is responsible for developing cost-effective and efficient processes. They also monitor the production process and ensure it functions smoothly and efficiently.

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

Information Security Manager

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

ITSM Manager

Automation test engineer.

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How to Write About the Impact of the Coronavirus in a College Essay

U.S. News & World Report

October 21, 2020, 12:00 AM

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The global impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, means colleges and prospective students alike are in for an admissions cycle like no other. Both face unprecedented challenges and questions as they grapple with their respective futures amid the ongoing fallout of the pandemic.

Colleges must examine applicants without the aid of standardized test scores for many — a factor that prompted many schools to go test-optional for now . Even grades, a significant component of a college application, may be hard to interpret with some high schools adopting pass-fail classes last spring due to the pandemic. Major college admissions factors are suddenly skewed.

“I can’t help but think other (admissions) factors are going to matter more,” says Ethan Sawyer, founder of the College Essay Guy, a website that offers free and paid essay-writing resources.

College essays and letters of recommendation , Sawyer says, are likely to carry more weight than ever in this admissions cycle. And many essays will likely focus on how the pandemic shaped students’ lives throughout an often tumultuous 2020.

[ Read: How to Write a College Essay. ]

But before writing a college essay focused on the coronavirus, students should explore whether it’s the best topic for them.

Writing About COVID-19 for a College Application

Much of daily life has been colored by the coronavirus. Virtual learning is the norm at many colleges and high schools, many extracurriculars have vanished and social lives have stalled for students complying with measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“For some young people, the pandemic took away what they envisioned as their senior year,” says Robert Alexander, dean of admissions, financial aid and enrollment management at the University of Rochester in New York. “Maybe that’s a spot on a varsity athletic team or the lead role in the fall play. And it’s OK for them to mourn what should have been and what they feel like they lost, but more important is how are they making the most of the opportunities they do have?”

That question, Alexander says, is what colleges want answered if students choose to address COVID-19 in their college essay.

But the question of whether a student should write about the coronavirus is tricky. The answer depends largely on the student.

“In general, I don’t think students should write about COVID-19 in their main personal statement for their application,” Robin Miller, master college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a college counseling company, wrote in an email.

“Certainly, there may be exceptions to this based on a student’s individual experience, but since the personal essay is the main place in the application where the student can really allow their voice to be heard and share insight into who they are as an individual, there are likely many other topics they can choose to write about that are more distinctive and unique than COVID-19,” Miller says.

[ Read: What Colleges Look for: 6 Ways to Stand Out. ]

Opinions among admissions experts vary on whether to write about the likely popular topic of the pandemic.

“If your essay communicates something positive, unique, and compelling about you in an interesting and eloquent way, go for it,” Carolyn Pippen, principal college admissions counselor at IvyWise, wrote in an email. She adds that students shouldn’t be dissuaded from writing about a topic merely because it’s common, noting that “topics are bound to repeat, no matter how hard we try to avoid it.”

Above all, she urges honesty.

“If your experience within the context of the pandemic has been truly unique, then write about that experience, and the standing out will take care of itself,” Pippen says. “If your experience has been generally the same as most other students in your context, then trying to find a unique angle can easily cross the line into exploiting a tragedy, or at least appearing as though you have.”

But focusing entirely on the pandemic can limit a student to a single story and narrow who they are in an application, Sawyer says. “There are so many wonderful possibilities for what you can say about yourself outside of your experience within the pandemic.”

He notes that passions, strengths, career interests and personal identity are among the multitude of essay topic options available to applicants and encourages them to probe their values to help determine the topic that matters most to them — and write about it.

That doesn’t mean the pandemic experience has to be ignored if applicants feel the need to write about it.

Writing About Coronavirus in Main and Supplemental Essays

Students can choose to write a full-length college essay on the coronavirus or summarize their experience in a shorter form.

To help students explain how the pandemic affected them, The Common App has added an optional section to address this topic. Applicants have 250 words to describe their pandemic experience and the personal and academic impact of COVID-19.

[ Read: The Common App: Everything You Need to Know. ]

“That’s not a trick question, and there’s no right or wrong answer,” Alexander says. Colleges want to know, he adds, how students navigated the pandemic, how they prioritized their time, what responsibilities they took on and what they learned along the way.

If students can distill all of the above information into 250 words, there’s likely no need to write about it in a full-length college essay, experts say. And applicants whose lives were not heavily altered by the pandemic may even choose to skip the optional COVID-19 question.

“This space is best used to discuss hardship and/or significant challenges that the student and/or the student’s family experienced as a result of COVID-19 and how they have responded to those difficulties,” Miller notes. Using the section to acknowledge a lack of impact, she adds, “could be perceived as trite and lacking insight, despite the good intentions of the applicant.”

To guard against this lack of awareness, Sawyer encourages students to tap someone they trust to review their writing , whether it’s the 250-word Common App response or the full-length essay.

Experts tend to agree that the short-form approach to this as an essay topic works better, but there are exceptions. And if a student does have a coronavirus story that he or she feels must be told, Alexander encourages the writer to be authentic in the essay.

“My advice for an essay about COVID-19 is the same as my advice about an essay for any topic — and that is, don’t write what you think we want to read or hear,” Alexander says. “Write what really changed you and that story that now is yours and yours alone to tell.”

Sawyer urges students to ask themselves, “What’s the sentence that only I can write?” He also encourages students to remember that the pandemic is only a chapter of their lives and not the whole book.

Miller, who cautions against writing a full-length essay on the coronavirus, says that if students choose to do so they should have a conversation with their high school counselor about whether that’s the right move. And if students choose to proceed with COVID-19 as a topic, she says they need to be clear, detailed and insightful about what they learned and how they adapted along the way.

“Approaching the essay in this manner will provide important balance while demonstrating personal growth and vulnerability,” Miller says.

Pippen encourages students to remember that they are in an unprecedented time for college admissions.

“It is important to keep in mind with all of these (admission) factors that no colleges have ever had to consider them this way in the selection process, if at all,” Pippen says. “They have had very little time to calibrate their evaluations of different application components within their offices, let alone across institutions. This means that colleges will all be handling the admissions process a little bit differently, and their approaches may even evolve over the course of the admissions cycle.”

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

More from U.S. News

College Admissions Process Mistakes Students Make

How Admissions Algorithms Could Affect Your College Acceptance

20 Top-Ranked Test-Flexible or Test-Optional Colleges

How to Write About the Impact of the Coronavirus in a College Essay originally appeared on usnews.com

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Essay On Covid-19: 100, 200 and 300 Words

• Updated on  
• Sep 20, 2023

COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, is a global pandemic that has affected people all around the world. It first emerged in a lab in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and quickly spread to countries around the world. This virus was reportedly caused by SARS-CoV-2. Since then, it has spread rapidly to many countries, causing widespread illness and impacting our lives in numerous ways. This blog talks about the details of this virus and also drafts an essay on COVID-19 in 100, 200 and 300 words for students and professionals. 

This Blog Includes:

Essay on covid-19 in english 100 words, essay on covid-19 in 200 words, essay on covid-19 in 300 words.

Also Read – Essay on Music

COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, is a global pandemic. It started in late 2019 and has affected people all around the world. The virus spreads very quickly through someone’s sneeze and respiratory issues.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our lives, with lockdowns, travel restrictions, and changes in daily routines. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, we should wear masks, practice social distancing, and wash our hands frequently. 

People should follow social distancing and other safety guidelines and also learn the tricks to be safe stay healthy and work the whole challenging time. 

COVID-19 also known as coronavirus, became a global health crisis in early 2020 and impacted mankind around the world. This virus is said to have originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019. It belongs to the coronavirus family and causes flu-like symptoms. It impacted the healthcare systems, economies and the daily lives of people all over the world. 

The most crucial aspect of COVID-19 is its highly spreadable nature. It is a communicable disease that spreads through various means such as coughs from infected persons, sneezes and communication. Due to its easy transmission leading to its outbreaks, there were many measures taken by the government from all over the world such as Lockdowns, Social Distancing, and wearing masks. 

There are many changes throughout the economic systems, and also in daily routines. Other measures such as schools opting for Online schooling, Remote work options available and restrictions on travel throughout the country and internationally. Subsequently, to cure and top its outbreak, the government started its vaccine campaigns, and other preventive measures. 

In conclusion, COVID-19 tested the patience and resilience of the mankind. This pandemic has taught people the importance of patience, effort and humbleness. 

Also Read – Essay on My Best Friend

COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, is a serious and contagious disease that has affected people worldwide. It was first discovered in late 2019 in Cina and then got spread in the whole world. It had a major impact on people’s life, their school, work and daily lives. 

COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets produced and through sneezes, and coughs of an infected person. It can spread to thousands of people because of its highly contagious nature. To cure the widespread of this virus, there are thousands of steps taken by the people and the government. 

Wearing masks is one of the essential precautions to prevent the virus from spreading. Social distancing is another vital practice, which involves maintaining a safe distance from others to minimize close contact.

Very frequent handwashing is also very important to stop the spread of this virus. Proper hand hygiene can help remove any potential virus particles from our hands, reducing the risk of infection. 

In conclusion, the Coronavirus has changed people’s perspective on living. It has also changed people’s way of interacting and how to live. To deal with this virus, it is very important to follow the important guidelines such as masks, social distancing and techniques to wash your hands. Getting vaccinated is also very important to go back to normal life and cure this virus completely. As we continue to battle this pandemic, it is crucial for everyone to do their part to protect themselves and their communities. 

to write an essay on COVID-19, understand your word limit and make sure to cover all the stages and symptoms of this disease. You need to highlight all the challenges and impacts of COVID-19. Do not forget to conclude your essay with positive precautionary measures.

Writing an essay on COVID-19 in 200 words requires you to cover all the challenges, impacts and precautions of this disease. You don’t need to describe all of these factors in brief, but make sure to add as many options as your word limit allows.

The full form for COVID-19 is Corona Virus Disease of 2019.

Hence, we hope that this blog has assisted you in comprehending what an essay on COVID-19 in English 200 words must include. For more such essays, check our category essay writing .

Simran Popli

An avid writer and a creative person. With an experience of 1.5 years content writing, Simran has worked with different areas. From medical to working in a marketing agency with different clients to Ed-tech company, the journey has been diverse. Creative, vivacious and patient are the words that describe her personality.

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