Covid-19 Social Isolation in Brazil: Effects on the Physical Activity Routine of Families With Children

Abstract

Objective: To identify how Brazilian families with children aged under 13 years face the period of social isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially regarding the time spent on physical activity (PA), intellectual activity, games, outdoor activities and screen. Methods: An anonymous online survey was launched on March 24, 2020 in Brazil to assess how families with children aged up to 12 years are adjusting their daily routines to this situation. In the survey, each family reported the daily time each child spent in sedentary activity (sum of intellectual activities, play time on screen, playing without PA) and PA (sum of playing with PA and PA). Results: The main findings based on data from 816 children indicate that most parents consider there was a reduction in the time that children spend practicing PA; increase in screen play time and family activities, differences between sex were found regarding screen play time (boys>girls) and in playing without PA (girls>boys), and there was an age effect for all categories analyzed, with a tendency to increase the total time of sedentary lifestyle and complementary reducing the time of PA over age. Conclusions: The household routines of families during the period of social isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic confirm the general reduction tendency in PA time during childhood.

The impact of COVID-19 on Physical Activity of Czech children

“…However, the total time spent being PA during COVID-19 was lower compared to normal days [45]. A significant reduction of PA during COVID is also reported in a Brazilian study [5], Spanish online survey [68] and Chinese study [69] using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS).…”

“…Beginning around six years of age, children undergo significant psychosocial developmental changes reflecting their self-concept and relationship with the environment [5]. An important part of their daily routine and healthy lifestyle is their regular school attendance and organized PA [5][6][7][8]. It contributes to the improvement of social contacts and can influence quality of life.…”

“…The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) variant was developed for children aged 8-14 years old [32] and was recently standardized for Czech children by Cuberek et al [38]. PAQ-C is considered a reliable tool to evaluate children's PA [5,[38][39][40]. Questionnaires can be combined with data obtained from accelerometers that monitor the amount of PA.…”

Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Portuguese Children’s Motor Competence

“…Confined to their homes, without any organized PA, free playtime outdoors, or opportunities to play with friends, children decreased their PA behaviors [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], increased screen time [ 23 , 24 , 26 ], and changed their eating habits, in most cases for worst [ 25 , 27 , 28 ]. These changes in children’s routines, as well as the correlates that influenced them, were investigated by survey studies during lockdown [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 29 ] because there was practically no other way of collecting data during that period. However, the objectively measured impact of these restrictions on Portuguese children’s motor behavior is yet to be determined, since, to our knowledge, no previous study has compared motor assessments pre- and post-lockdown.…”

Physical activity and medication in Brazilians suffering with non-communicable diseases in quarantine by COVID-19

“…Studies show that there was a decrease in the practice of physical activity for leisure all over the world. [10][11][12][13] In the current national landscape, a study carried out with Brazilian families has shown the increased time spent in secondary tasks, mainly in the computer and/or cell phone, at the expense of the time designated to the practice of physical activity, 10 and beyond that the lockdown measures applied to places dedicated to the practice of physical activity have decreased the options of practice, becoming a challenge to the population. 13 Social isolation, used as a preventive measure to contain the dissemination of COVID-19, has changed the dynamics of physical exercise practice in general for the whole population.…”