Socio-economic inequalities in physical activity among Japanese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to explore the socio-economic inequalities in physical activity (PA) based on domains of daily life, such as work, transport, recreation and sedentary life, among Japanese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was a cross-sectional study.

This study used data from the 2020 National Sport and Lifestyle Survey, conducted by the Sasakawa Sports Foundation. Data of 2,296 (1,103 women) participants were analysed. PAs were assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Educational level and household income were used as indicators of socio-economic status. We calculated the slope index of inequality (SII) and relative index of inequality (RII).

We detected absolute and relative inequalities for household income in all PA domains, except for work-related PA. The higher the participants' income, the longer they engaged in transport- and recreation-related PA and sedentary behaviour. Recreation-related PA had a larger disparity than other domains, with SII at 20.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] -28.4 to -13.1) and RII at 0.58 (95% CI 0.47-0.71). At the educational level, each inequality was observed in work- and recreation-related PA and sedentary behaviour. The higher the participants' educational level, the longer they engaged in recreation-related PA and sedentary behaviour. However, work-related PA was longer at lower educational levels, with RII at 1.90 (95% CI 1.48-2.44). The inequality in recreation-related PA was also relatively large (SII 23.3%, 95% CI -30.9 to -15.7; RII 0.54, 95% CI 0.45-0.66).

Our study revealed significant socio-economic disparities in each PA domain, particularly in recreational PA. These results suggest a widening gap because of the COVID-19 pandemic.