Balatoni, IldikóAdamu, Umar Gambo2025-11-262025-11-262025https://hdl.handle.net/2437/399079This doctoral dissertation by Umar Gambo Adamu investigates the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global health behaviors, with a specific focus on physical activity and sports consumption. The research offers a unique cross-cultural analysis by comparing three countries with differing economic backgrounds—England, Hungary, and Nigeria—across three distinct timeframes: before, during, and after the pandemic. The primary objective was to understand how epidemiological measures and lockdowns influenced lifestyle habits, including screen time and sedentary behavior, in these diverse regions. The study revealed distinct regional differences in how populations responded to the crisis. in England, physical activity levels declined during the pandemic and failed to return to pre-pandemic levels afterward, whereas in Hungary, physical activity did not significantly drop during the lockdown and actually increased in the post-pandemic period. Nigeria displayed a different pattern entirely, where physical activity remained stable across all three periods, and daily sitting time at work uniquely decreased during the pandemic. Regarding the consumption of sports (such as watching or following events), both Hungary and Nigeria experienced a significant decline during the crisis, while habits in England remained largely unchanged. Despite these regional differences, the research identified universal trends, most notably that daily screen time increased significantly in all three countries during the pandemic before declining again once restrictions were lifted. Additionally, the study found no significant gender differences in sports consumption across the surveyed nations. Based on these findings, the dissertation recommends that Hungary and Nigeria increase investment in sports infrastructure and health education to mirror the economic and health contributions seen in the UK's sports sector.132enCOVID-19 PandemicHealth BehaviorSport ConsumptionPhysical ActivityPhD, doktori értekezésGazdálkodás- és szervezéstudományokTársadalomtudományok