@article{odell_whitney_lee_2023, title={Changes in adult leisure-time physical activity during and after COVID-19 restrictions in Colorado Springs, Colorado}, ISSN={["1466-4496"]}, DOI={10.1080/02614367.2023.2249253}, abstractNote={ABSTRACTThe public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed leisure-time physical activity (PA) behaviour, as many ‘Stay-at-Home’ policies mandated closure of indoor recreational facilities. This study examined changes in adult leisure-time PA in more and less active groups during and after COVID-19 restrictions in a relatively active region where outdoor PA was not limited. Self-reported data on walking, moderate, and vigorous PA before, during, and after restrictions were collected via a retrospective internet survey with convenience and snowball sampling. Respondents (N = 183) were categorised as either meeting (n = 129) or not meeting (n = 54) the national recommendation of 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic PA (MVPA) during the period before restrictions. Minutes of walking, MVPA, and total PA were compared across groups and periods with two-way repeated-measure ANOVAs. Those who met PA guidelines decreased MVPA by 51.0 minutes/week during restrictions compared to before. Those not meeting PA guidelines increased total PA by 88.1 minutes/week during restrictions. This study highlights a need to better understand interactions between built environment and social cognitive factors related to leisure-time PA, which may help inform future PA interventions.KEYWORDS: Health behaviourscoronavirusStay-at-home restrictionsleisure activityphysical activitypublic health AcknowledgementsThe authors acknowledge Esther Lamidi, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs for her feedback in designing the survey and helpful discussions about the study findings.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Ethical approvalThe University of Colorado Colorado Springs Institutional Review Board approved this study (#2021–041). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.Informed consentInformed consent was obtained by all individual participants included in this study.Additional informationFundingThe authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Notes on contributorsNicole E. OdellNicole E. Odell received an M.Sc. in Health Promotion at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and is now a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. Her research interests are related to equitable access to physical activity opportunities and the intersection of public health and sustainability.Paige WhitneyPaige Whitney is the Assistant Dean for Interprofessional Education for the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She is also a Senior Clinical Instructor and the Director of the Center for Active Living. Her research focuses on effective strategies of workplace health promotion and interprofessional education.Joey A. LeeJoey A. Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. His research focuses on youth fitness and behavioural health promotion in community and school-based settings.}, journal={LEISURE STUDIES}, author={Odell, Nicole E. and Whitney, Paige and Lee, Joey A.}, year={2023}, month={Aug} }