University Sociologists: After the Lockdown, 2/3 of People Care More About Themselves

10:30, July 17, 2023

Specialists have found out how the habits of people in the Urals have changed after the pandemic

The coronavirus changed people's attitude to their bodies and health. Sociologists of the Ural Federal University found out that in comparison with the pre-pandemic period, people began to use hygienic methods and means more often (30.4%), to exercise (28.1%), to follow a daily schedule that includes adequate sleep (26.7%), proper nutrition (22.2%), and an optimal combination of work and rest (21.5%). Data from the sociological survey and a description of people's attitudes toward their bodies were published in the journal Changing Societies & Personalities. The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation and the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region (Project No. 22-28-20365).

"We surveyed 1,077 residents of large cities in the Sverdlovsk region, aged 18 to 60. The survey showed the ambiguous impact of the pandemic on attitudes to the body and practices of its care. On the one hand, only a third of respondents drew a connection between living through the pandemic, a healthy body and a more careful attitude to it. On the other hand, in an attempt to take control of their own bodies and health, 2/3 of respondents began to take more care of their bodies after the lockdown, using such practices as personal hygiene, physical activity and adequate sleep," says Natalya Antonova, co-author of the study and professor at the Department of Applied Sociology at the UrFU, commenting on the paradox.

Covid-19 affected not only everyday practices (wearing masks, using antiseptics), but also each person's perception of his or her own body, sociologists explain. As a result, young people began to pay more attention to personal hygiene, stress control and preventive vitamin intake.

"The impact of the pandemic situation on their attitude to their body was recorded by 32.6% of respondents. Among them, 57.2% believe that they have become more careful about their health and listened to the signals of their body. Others believe that the pandemic has caused an increase in their fatalistic views, they realized the impossibility of controlling and managing diseases (14.3%)," says Sofya Abramova, co-author of the study, Associate Professor of the Department of Applied Sociology at UrFU.

The pandemic has become an uncontrollable challenge. But, as the survey showed, people tend to control habits that help maintain immunity and ability to work.

Moreover, during the coronavirus and after the pandemic, the ideology of healthism entered a new stage of development, which in the new conditions essentially became a serious argument in the system of body care, sociologists add.

Reference

Healthism is a current that focuses on ideas about healthy lifestyles and their promotion, politicization, and commercialization. Health is seen as a prerequisite for a fulfilled life and happiness. The basic principles of healthism are an active lifestyle, a healthy diet, the conscious pursuit of self-improvement, and the search for harmony in all aspects of life. Radical versions of healthism include condemnation of the actions of those who do not conform to the imposed image of a healthy citizen.

Sergey Lukyanchenko, Anna Marinovich

The news article was translated by UrFU International Marketing Office. 
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