Did physical activity and associated barriers change during COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland? Repeated cross-sectional study.

Our study looked at the physical activity levels of Irish adults during the first two waves of COVID-19 restrictions. We also examined the factors that helped or hindered people to be active at this time. We used an anonymous, online questionnaire to collect responses during May and November 2020. In total, 1274 people responded in May and 810 in November. We found that in May, almost half of the respondents reported they were more active than usual. By November this had reduced to just over a quarter and about one in three people reported they were doing less activity than usual. People who were less active than usual reported that the closure of their usual means of getting activity, and the advice not to outdoors were the main factors preventing them from being active. People who were more active than usual reported that having more time and feeling that physical activity was important helped them to be more active. The things that helped or hindered people from being active generally did not change between May and November.