Hernandez-Jaña, SamEscobar-Gomez, DanicaCristi-Montero, CarlosCastro-Piñero, JoseRodriguez-Rodriguez, Fernando2023-05-032023-05-032022-02-01Hernández-Jaña S, Escobar-Gómez D, Cristi-Montero C, Castro-Piñero J, Rodríguez-Rodríguez F. Changes in Active Behaviours, Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, and Physical Fitness in Chilean Parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Feb 6;19(3):1846http://hdl.handle.net/10668/21028Strategies to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have caused different behavioural modifications in all populations. Therefore, this study aimed to determine changes in active commuting, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), physical fitness, and sedentary time during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chilean parents. Eighty-six fathers (41.30 ± 6.82 years) and 294 mothers (40.68 ± 6.92 years) of children from different schools from Valparaíso, Chile, participated. Inclusion criteria were adults with schoolchildren who were resident in Chile during the research period. Convenience sampling was used as a non-probabilistic sampling technique. Respondents completed a self-reported online survey about active commuting, MVPA, self-perceived physical fitness, and sedentary time July-September 2020 during the first pandemic period. Comparisons between before and during the pandemic were performed using t-tests and covariance analysis (ANCOVA), establishing a significance level at p< 0.05. Most participants stayed at home during the pandemic, whereas active and passive commuting significantly decreased in both fathers and mothers (p < 0.001). MVPA and physical fitness scores reduced considerably (p < 0.05), while sedentary time significantly increased (p < 0.05), independent of the sex of parents and children’s school type. Differences by age groups and the number of children were more heterogeneous, as younger parents showed a larger decrease in MVPA (p < 0.05) and physical fitness score (p < 0.05). Additionally, parents with one child showed a larger decrease in sedentary time (p < 0.05) than those with two or more children. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected healthy behaviours. Hence, health policies should promote more strategies to mitigate the long-term health effects of the pandemic on Chilean parents.enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/SARS-CoV-2FamilyHealthy behaviourIsolationLockdownQuarantineAdultCOVID-19ChildChileExerciseFemaleHumansPandemicsPhysical fitnessRetrospective studiesSedentary behaviorresearch article35162868open accessAptitud físicaConducta sedentariaEjercicio físicoEstudios retrospectivosNiñoPandemias10.3390/ijerph190318461660-4601PMC8835301https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1846/pdf?version=1644154877https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8835301/pdf