Samenvatting

The severity of the Coronavirus pandemic resulted in lockdown and curfew implementations in different countries, including the Netherlands, in order to reduce the spread of the virus. After implementation of “hard lockdown” in the Netherlands, many young adults, among other social groups, had to face limitations of indoor and outdoor activities as well as reduction of social contacts. Lockdown and curfew policies are likely to have an effect on people’s mental health and general well-being. Since physical activity is believed to have a favorable effect on an individual’s mental state and general well-being. The choice of non-restricted activities during lockdown circumstances is reduced significantly, people resort to giving up their usual training routines and generally spend their free time in a more passive manner. Thus, a comparison was planned to be made between local couriers, who perform certain physical activity regardless of epidemiological situation and implemented regulations, and ordinary Netherlands residents. Therefore, the aim of the study is to discover the effect of physical activity on self-reported mental health status in adolescents and young adults.

The findings indicate that delivery personnel’s covered distance as physical activity equivalent turned out to be a negative predictor of better mental health and general well-being during the implemented curfew and other COVID-19 related restrictions. Therefore, the right choice of physical activity is vitally important for the individual in order to reduce psychological
burden experienced.