ABSTRACT BACKGROUND:

The COVID-19 pandemic may be having many psychological impacts on people, at both an individual and a community level.

OBJECTIVE:

To ascertain the relationship between the weekly frequency of physical activity and levels of stress among Brazilian adults during social distancing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), and the interaction of sex in this association.

DESIGN AND SETTING:

Cross-sectional study with a descriptive approach conducted at a public university in Curitiba (PR), Brazil.

METHODS:

2,000 Brazilian adults (average age 36.4 years; 59.6% women) were recruited according to convenience through digital media. They filled out a questionnaire in electronic format that asked for sociodemographic information, health data, food consumption data, weekly frequency of physical activity and stress levels on the 10-item Kessler psychological distress scale. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used to evaluate the data.

RESULTS:

Associations were observed for the following correlations: male sex * no physical activity (odds ratio (OR): 4.35; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14-16.67); female sex * physical activity 4 or 5 times a week (OR: 7.86; 95% CI: 2.28-27.05); female sex * physical activity 3 times a week (OR: 7.32; 95% CI: 2.09-25.58); female sex * physical activity 1 or 2 times a week (OR: 14.57; 95% CI: 4.28-49.57); and female sex * no physical activity (OR: 24.17; 95% CI: 7.21-80.97).

CONCLUSION:

The lower the weekly frequency of physical activity during the period of social distancing was, the greater the chances of having stress levels were, especially for women.