Sport Sciences and Health Research

Sport Sciences and Health Research

The comparison of the lifestyle of vaccinated versus unvaccinated elite athletes during the Covid-19 pandemic: A multi-country comparison

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Mahdi Ashouri 1
morteza taheri 2
khadijeh irandoust 3
Masoud Mirmoezzi 4
1 Graduated with a master's degree in sports nutrition from Imam Khomeini International University
2 Imam Khomeini International University
3 20 Noroozian
4 Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/sshr.2023.357170.1082
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in global home confinement and quarantine, leading to the vaccination of societies worldwide. However, some elite athletes have negative views toward vaccination.
Aim: This study aimed to compare the lifestyle of vaccinated versus unvaccinated international elite athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods: From March to October 2021, an online survey was conducted, including socio-individual information of athletes, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants (REAP-S), and the Petersburg Sleep Quality Questionnaire (PSQI). A total of 581 elite athletes from 4 continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America) and different countries, aged 18-35 years, were voluntarily recruited. Data analysis was performed using U-Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, with the level of significance set at alpha P<0.05.
Results: The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the level of physical activity and eating behavior of vaccinated versus unvaccinated elite athletes (P<0.001). However, no significant difference was found between the quality of sleep among vaccinated and unvaccinated elite athletes (P=0.270).
Conclusion: It was shown that, despite the unvaccinated status of some elite athletes (49.9%), their physical activity levels were higher than those of vaccinated elite athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the eating behavior of vaccinated elite athletes was better than that of unvaccinated elite athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there was no significant difference in the quality of sleep between the groups.
Keywords
COVID-19
dietary behaviors
elite athletes
sleep quality
vaccination
physical activity

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Sport Sciences and Health Research
Volume 14, Issue 2
July 2022
Pages 189-199