The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted communities across the world. Government responses, of promoting ‘social distancing’ at a population level, and ‘self-isolation’ of older adults to mitigate its spread have been unprecedented. Despite the importance of these Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM), they present challenges to maintaining a physically active lifestyle, particularly for older adults. The importance of physical activity (PA) for health is well documented. There is strong evidence that PA in later life reduces the risk of disease, helps to manage existing conditions, and develops and maintains physical and mental function. Staying physically active is particularly important for older adults currently. Research suggests that PHSM have already reduced levels of PA for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to COVID-19 many older adults were not engaging in enough PA to attain health benefits. Evidence indicates that there will be an increase in the number of older adults not meeting guidelines for PA due to the impacts of COVID-19. This has implications for population health and public health policy. How to support older adults to remain physically active during and after the COVID-19 crisis will require careful consideration. Going forward it is imperative that policy and practice support all older adults to achieve the recommended levels of PA to ensure that they are not disadvantaged in the short- but also in the longer term by the impact of COVID-19.

中文翻译：

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为什么在大流行时期体育活动对老年人很重要


COVID-19 大流行影响了世界各地的社区。政府采取了前所未有的应对措施，在人口层面上促进“社会疏远”，以及老年人的“自我隔离”，以减轻其传播。尽管这些公共卫生和社会措施 (PHSM) 很重要，但它们对保持身体活跃的生活方式提出了挑战，特别是对于老年人而言。体力活动 (PA) 对健康的重要性已有充分记录。有强有力的证据表明，晚年的体力活动可以降低患病风险，有助于管理现有状况，并发展和维持身心功能。目前，保持身体活跃对于老年人来说尤其重要。研究表明，PHSM 已经在 COVID-19 大流行期间降低了老年人的 PA 水平。在 COVID-19 之前，许多老年人没有进行足够的 PA 来获得健康益处。有证据表明，由于 COVID-19 的影响，不符合 PA 指南的老年人数量将会增加。这对人口健康和公共卫生政策具有影响。如何支持老年人在 COVID-19 危机期间和之后保持身体活动需要仔细考虑。展望未来，政策和实践必须支持所有老年人达到建议的 PA 水平，以确保他们在短期和长期内不会因 COVID-19 的影响而处于不利地位。