Prática de atividade física e desigualdades em idosos antes e após a COVID-19

This study aimed to verify the modification in the physical activity prevalence (PA) and possible inequalities in older individuals monitored before and after social distancing due to COVID-19. This is a prospective study conducted in the urban area of Pelotas-Rio Grande do Sul, where the elderly was followed up in 2019/20 and 2021/22. The prevalence of PA was assessed using the IPAQ in the domain of leisure time and commuting evaluated together. Older people who performed ≥150 min/week were classified as physically active. The covariates/stratifiers assessed were sex, age, skin color, economic class, schooling, and morbidity. Simple inequalities were assessed through differences and ratios for the prevalence of PA and complex inequalities through the inequality index (SII) and the concentration index (CIX). The results indicated that there was a reduction in the prevalence of PA among the participants from 2019/20 to 2021/22 and that these changes occurred regardless of population characteristics. The SII showed an increase in PA inequality among the poorest compared to the richest individuals and a reduction in inequalities about age, education, and morbidities. It is concluded that the reduction in PA occurred similarly regardless of the covariates/ stratifiers evaluated, that there was an increase in inequality in PA among the less economically favored, and that the reduction in inequality occurred especially from the reduction in PA, requiring health policies to rescue adequate levels of PA in the studied population.