Evaluation of Physical Activity Levels, Sleep Quality and Nutritional Habits of Paraathletes during the Pandemic Process

Purpose: Cancellation or postponement of sports events due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused great stress for athletes. There are limited studies on how physical activity levels, nutritional habits, and sleep quality are affected, especially in physically disabled athletes(para-athletes) during the pandemic process. The aim of the research is to examine the physical activity, nutritional habits, and sleep quality levels of para-athletes during the pandemic process. Material and Methods: Eighty-seven male para-athletes were included in the study. The personal data form required to determine the characteristics within the study subject International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ Short Form), the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index Questionnaire were used in a way consistent with the study. In addition to these sections, changes in participants' nutritional habits were also questioned. Results: The total MET values of para-athletes were determined as 3233 +/- 1421. The sleep quality index total score averages of the participants were 5.83 +/- 0.80 points, indicating the level of "poor sleep quality". Food consumption of the participants It was found that 56% of them increased their food consumption, 28% did not change, and 18% decreased. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that physical activity, nutrition, and sleep processes, which have an important place in the life cycle of para-athletes, were adversely affected during the pandemic process.

Narrowing the gap

[...]less than 4% of media coverage is on female athletes.5 Since 2020, less girls are participating and staying involved in sport.1 When we think of women in sports, we tend to think of the lack of representation of women and non-binary individuals in healthcare roles working with a professional sports team, a disappointing trend for professions that are traditionally female dominated. Narrowing the gap: keeping kids active and healthy Children and youth are spending less time outdoors, are more sedentary, sleep more, and spend more time on screen-based activities compared with pre-COVID-19.8 As physiotherapists, we can play a pivotal role in promoting community-based physical activity and increasing children's functional abilities to help them thrive on and off the field. ‘The TransformUs! cluster RCT 18 and 30-month effects on children's physical activity sedentary time and cardiometabolic risk markers' ( see page 311 ) study reports on the efficacy of the Transform-Us! school-based and home-based intervention on children's physical activity, sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic risk factors.

A tale of two stories: COVID-19 and disability. A critical scoping review of the literature on the effects of the pandemic among athletes with disabilities and para-athletes.

The still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted athletes, and, in particular, para-athletes and athletes with disabilities. However, there is no scholarly appraisal on this topic. Therefore, a critical scoping review of the literature was conducted. We were able to retrieve sixteen relevant studies. The sample size ranged from 4 to 183. Most studies were observational, cross-sectional, and questionnaire-based surveys, two studies were interventional, and two were longitudinal. One study was a technical feasibility study. Almost all studies were conducted as single-country studies, with the exception of one multi-country investigation. Five major topics/themes could be identified: namely, 1) impact of COVID-19-induced confinement on training and lifestyles in athletes with disabilities/para-athletes; 2) impact of COVID-19-induced confinement on mental health in athletes with disabilities/para-athletes; 3) impact of COVID-19-induced confinement on performance outcomes in athletes with disabilities/para-athletes; 4) risk of contracting COVID-19 among athletes with disabilities/para-athletes; and, finally, 5) impact of COVID-19 infection on athletes with disabilities/para-athletes. The scholarly literature assessed was highly heterogeneous, with contrasting findings, and various methodological limitations. Based on our considerations, we recommend that standardized, reliable tools should be utilized and new, specific questionnaires should be created, tested for reliability, and validated. High-quality, multi-center, cross-countries, longitudinal surveys should be conducted to overcome current shortcomings. Involving all relevant actors and stakeholders, including various national and international Paralympic Committees, as a few studies have done, is fundamental: community-led, participatory research can help identify gaps in the current knowledge about sports-related practices among the population of athletes with disabilities during an unprecedented period of measures undertaken that have significantly affected everyday life. Moreover, this could advance the field, by capturing the needs of para-athletes and athletes with disabilities and enabling the design of a truly "disability-inclusive response" to COVID-19 and similar future conditions/situations. Furthermore, follow-up studies on COVID-19-infected para-athletes and athletes with disabilities should be conducted. Evidence of long-term effects of COVID-19 is available only for able-bodied athletes, for whom cardiorespiratory residual alterations and mental health issues a long time after COVID-19 have been described.

Effects of COVID-19: relations of sport and disability on the training load and expectation of athletes on road to Tokyo Paralympic Games

BACKGROUND: the prevention protocols of COVID-19 impact several restrictions in the sports world, the influence of this scenario in the athletes with impairment increased associated a multifactorial condition like environment, etiology. or psychological perception. The aim of this study was to identify the influences of impairments and sports on characteristics of load training during the COVID-19 Pandemic, life satisfaction and the expectation about the influence of pandemic on the performance in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. METHODS: One hundred eighty Brazilian para-athletes, in a cross-sectional study, answered a survey about their training load before and during the Pandemic, satisfaction with life and expectation about their performance. Athletes were divided into three groups according to their sport practiced: individual sports (Ind-1);Individual sports with opposition (Ind-2) and team sports (Team). The data were analyzed by impairments and sports roups. RESULTS: Hours of training, number of sessions and rating of perceived exertion reduced during the pandemic. Limb impairment and spinal cord injurygroups reduced training hours during pandemic. Team group showed lower training sessions per week than the Ind-1 group. No difference was found in life satisfaction among the groups. Most athletes believe that the pandemic will damage their performance in the Tokyo Paralympic Games. CONCLUSIONS: Influences of COVID-19 Pandemic on training loads were identified to all groups, however there were no differences between disabilities or sports in the life satisfaction and expectation about the influence of pandemic on the performance in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.