The COVID-19 Pandemic and Overall Wellbeing: Mediating Role of Virtual Reality Fitness for Physical-Psychological Health and Physical Activity

Xiang Peng; Rashid Menhas; Jianhui Dai; Muhammad Younas

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S369020

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Overall Wellbeing: Mediating Role of Virtual Reality Fitness for Physical-Psychological Health and Physical Activity

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2022 Jul 13:15:1741-1756. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S369020. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiang Peng^{1

2}, Rashid Menhas³, Jianhui Dai², Muhammad Younas⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Physical Education, Hunan City University, Yiyang, People's Republic of China.
² College of Physical Education and Sports, Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
³ Research Center of Sports Social Sciences, College of Physical Education and Sports, Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.
⁴ School of Education, Soochow University, Suzhou, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Background: Virtual reality applications are made for various objectives such as business, entertainment, education, and healthcare. Anxiety, phobias, distress, disordered eating, drug addiction, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression, and autism spectrum disorders may benefit from virtual reality-based approaches. The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the way we live, enjoy, study, sport, and socialize significantly. Virtual reality fitness technology gained much attention during the COVID-19 preventive measures time.

Objective: The present study explores the role of virtual reality fitness in improving overall wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic home isolation period in terms of physical-psychological health and physical activity.

Methods: A total of 2300 individuals were recruited using the snowball sampling technique to participate in the study. The primary data were collected using an anonymous web-based survey. SPSS-23 and Smart-PLS 3.2.9 software were used to analyze the data.

Results: The direct path coefficient analysis of the study constructs show that virtual reality fitness has (preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness -> overall wellbeing, preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness -> physical exercise, and preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness -> physical health) profound effects on the research participants' mental and physical wellbeing of the study participants while indirect mediation analysis shows that virtual reality fitness has (preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness ->overall wellbeing, preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness -> physical exercise, preventive measures -> virtual reality fitness ->physical health) significant impacts.

Conclusion: Our study results concluded that house exercises through virtual reality fitness are a good substitute for public gyms and private group fitness programs during the first pandemic wave for physical-psychological and overall wellbeing. Virtual reality fitness technology can alleviate many of the challenges brought on by the epidemic, resulting in increased utilization.

Keywords: COVID-19; lockdown; overall wellbeing; psychological and physical health; virtual reality fitness.

Grants and funding

Hunan Province Educational Science Planning Project (XJK22ZDJD52)