Moms on the move: A qualitative exploration of a postpartum group exercise program on physical activity behaviour at three distinct time points.

PURPOSE: Physical activity (PA) after the birth of a child is associated with improved physical and mental health benefits. The aim of the study was to explore new mothers' experiences of PA before and after participation in a group-based PA program for new mothers. The study has three research questions: how new mothers felt; 1) about PA after the birth of their child 2) about engaging in a group-based PA program and 3) after the program ended about ongoing PA engagement. METHODS: We conducted an 8-week bi-weekly PA program for postpartum women. To understand the experience of postpartum women engaging in a group-based PA program we conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews before, after, and at 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Of the n = 21 participants in the Moms on the Move study; n = 17 completed pre interviews.s. One primary theme emerged from pre-program interviews where mothers shared how they were lost as to where to start PA. Post-program interviews produced two primary themes; engaging in PA helped mothers, and mothers learned to rethink PA. CONCLUSIONS: Postpartum women who participated in this group-based PA program had positive benefits to their mental and physical health and were able to alter their PA behaviour.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Women's Physical Activity Behavior and Mental Well-Being.

BACKGROUND: A global pandemic caused by COVID-19 resulted in restrictions to daily living for Canadians, including social distancing and closure of recreation facilities and provincial parks. METHODS: The objective of this study was to assess whether sex differences exist in physical activity and well-being since COVID-19 and to explore how barriers or facilitators to physical activity may explain these differences. Chi-square tests, independent t-tests and one-way ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate data provided by 1098 Canadians-215 men and 871 women. RESULTS: Women were significantly less physically active than men and reported more barriers and fewer facilitators to physical activity and experienced significantly more generalized anxiety than men. Women who were engaged in less physical activity due to COVID-19 reported significantly lower mental health scores, lower social, emotional and psychological well-being, and significantly higher generalized anxiety, while women who engaged in more physical activity had improved mental health scores. CONCLUSIONS: Given the challenges that women uniquely face due to restrictions, it is imperative to advocate and provide environmental opportunity and support for physical activity to reduce the mental duress women may be experiencing. Specific physical activity programming that is inclusive of lifestyle physical activity and can engage children is encouraged.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Physical Activity Behavior and Well-Being of Canadians.

A global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) resulted in restrictions to daily living for Canadians, including social distancing and closure of city and provincial recreation facilities, national parks and playgrounds. The objective of this study was to assess how these preemptive measures impacted physical activity behaviour and well-being of Canadians. An online survey was utilized to measure participant physical activity behavior, nature exposure, well-being and anxiety levels. Results indicate that while 40.5% of inactive individuals became less active, only 22.4% of active individuals became less active. Comparatively, 33% of inactive individuals became more active while 40.3% of active individuals became more active. There were significant differences in well-being outcomes in the inactive population between those who were more active, the same or less active (p < 0.001) but this was not seen in the active population. Inactive participants who spent more time engaged in outdoor physical activity had lower anxiety than those who spent less time in outdoor physical activity. Public health measures differentially affected Canadians who were active and inactive and physical activity was strongly associated with well-being outcomes in inactive individuals. This suggests that health promoting measures directed towards inactive individuals may be essential to improving well-being.