The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged all aspects of our day-to-day lives, and our behaviours have not been unaffected. Since the start of the Pandemic, Professor Mark Tully, in collaboration with Dr Lee Smith from Anglia Ruskin university and an international team of experts, has been studying changes in health related behaviours.
Although initially many people started to walk and cycle more, Professor Tully was involved in publishing a systematic review showing that the pandemic has led to more than half of children, adults and people living with medical conditions reducing their daily physical activity and increasing their screen time.
This review of 64 studies, representing nearly 87 thousand people concluded that as we recover from the pandemic, prioritising promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour is an urgent priority. Increased physical activity reduces the risk of over 20 common chronic health conditions, many of which will also have been affected during the pandemic.
Now is the time to move.
In August, our staff in the School Of Health Sciences are taking part in a physical activity challenge. Look out for posts on our social media channels @UlsterHealthSci to see what they get up to!