People work out at an outdoor gym set up in a parking lot on Aug. 27, 2020 in Los Angeles.
Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th National Medical Director (US Surgeon General), said on Feb. 5 that the closure of California fitness centers over the past year has taken a toll on people’s physical and mental health.
Since March of last year, California Governor Newsom (Gavin Newsom) issued a strict prevention order, restaurants, indoor gyms, beauty salons and other industries were forced to close, the ban also caused a sharp increase in unemployment, economic stagnation, business closures and other effects in California.
To date, some of the bans have been lifted in some industries, but indoor fitness centers are still banned in places like Los Angeles County, which is in the worst purple level of the state’s Epidemic.
According to a statewide poll completed two weeks ago by David Binder Research, a majority of Californians believe indoor fitness centers are important, with 56 percent of California voters supporting their reopening.
The poll also found that 69 percent of California voters said the outbreak affected their personal mental health; 81 percent said the closure because of the CCP virus outbreak affected their personal fitness routine; and 64 percent said keeping businesses open was critical to both California’s jobs and economy.
In another statistic, the closure of fitness centers following the outbreak resulted in a 32% decrease in the number of people participating in indoor physical activity. Even though some fitness center operators were forced to set up temporary training spaces outdoors with some equipment and facilities, many people refused to exercise outdoors due to safety concerns such as outdoor air quality, and the cost of Home gyms was difficult to cover.
The stress of being closed off and having nowhere to exercise has also caused a significant increase in the rate of depression and melancholy in the community. Dr. Carmona said, “Fitness centers have a direct impact on the health and wellness of our citizens. As found in the survey results, the closing of fitness centers over the past year has taken a significant toll on people’s physical and mental health.” “There has been a significant increase in lack of physical activity, which is causing problems for both cardiovascular health and immunity for people in the community.”
He noted, “In California, African-American and Latino residents have the highest rates of physical inactivity, at 23 percent and 27 percent, respectively. One of the most important indicators of these numbers is that African-American and Latino residents also have the highest morbidity and mortality rates in the United States, making it imperative that they engage in regular exercise. Regular exercise reduces cardiovascular disease mortality and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.”
In addition to physical health, Carmona said exercise is vital to a person’s mental health. He said, “A recent study by the CDC found that the pandemic caused an increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression ratios among young people, minorities, essential industry workers, and caregivers, who are at high risk. The same study also found that 1 in 4 young people considered suicide during the pandemic, thus also demonstrating the importance of getting indoor exercise.”
David Binder, founder of David Binder Research, said they also asked voters in the study if they supported businesses reopening with safety in mind. “California Fitness Center proposed a fitness plan to help guide the reopening of large fitness centers in California. Precautions in the plan include limiting capacity, extending safety distances to 12 feet, wearing masks, ensuring that equipment touched by the public is disinfected every 20 minutes during operation, and disinfecting again after the center closes. In our survey, we found that 67 percent of California voters said it was a good idea and supported reopening the fitness centers.”
Through the survey, he added, “Californians now believe it’s more important to keep businesses open and to take the proper safety measures to maintain the economy and jobs, so that’s the public opinion we have in California right now.”
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