The Influence of Lockdown on the Physical Activity and Subjective Health in the Teachers of Physical Education in Poland

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in restrictions in most countries. One of them was to replace traditional education in schools with online learning. Such a change could provoke a build-up of negative feelings due to insecurity and loneliness. In addition, reducing daily physical activity and closing sports venues can have a detrimental effect on health. The article presents the results of the study of the impact of distance learning on the daily physical activity and condition of physical education teachers in Poland, as well as the subjective perception of physical and mental health in this professional group. Google forms were used to collect the data. The research tool was a questionnaire. The analysis showed that distance learning had a significant negative impact on the physical and mental health of the study group. The impact of distance learning on physical and mental health is gender independent. Teachers more often negatively assessed their physical and mental health compared to the studies in previous years. Daily physical activity of the subjects decreased, and most of them increased their body weight. Less than 3% of the surveyed teachers during the blockade felt happy and full of life.

Keywords

• public health
• physical education teachers
• lockdown
• physical activity
• psychological stress