Validation of a Brazilian version of the Checklist for Assessment of Gender Disadvantage (CAGED) in adolescents.

Step count is an easily identifiable measure of ambulatory physical activity (PA) and is associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases (), hospitalizations (), and mortality (,) in older adults. Conversely, sedentary behavior (SB) is inversely related to the benefits of PA (). Older adults are estimated to spend 65-80% of their time in SB, averaging approximately 9.4 h per day engaged in this behavior (). Both outcomes can be easily monitored using pedometers and accelerometers (,). A higher number of daily steps is associated with improved physical performance (PP) in older adults (), whereas high levels of SB are linked to poorer PP (). A high PP is an important outcome in maintaining an active lifestyle and is related to the development of healthy aging (). Low levels of PP can triple the likelihood of mortality (). Moreover, physically active older adults tend to have a lower risk of falls and cognitive impairment, as well as a better quality of life (). Therefore, any personal or environmental factor that alters active behavior can directly impair the PP of older adults and, consequently, their quality of life (). One of the main factors that directly influenced the lifestyle of the global population was the COVID-19 pandemic that was declared in March 2020. Older adults were among the groups most affected by both the direct and indirect consequences of the pandemic (). Longitudinal studies have shown a decline in PP among community-dwelling older adults (,), and cross-sectional studies conducted during the pandemic observed that PP, specifically lower limb strength and handgrip strength, were related to the level of PA and SB (,).