Understanding the impact of COVID‐19 on children’s physical activity levels in NSW, Australia

Reece, Lindsey; Owen, Katherine; Foley, Bridget C.; Rose, Catriona; Bellew, William; Bauman, Adrian

doi:10.1002/hpja.436

Cited by 19 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…Several studies reported on a considerable disengagement in physical activity during the lockdown. 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 While this appears true for most of our respondents, it is noteworthy that changes for the better were reported by more than one-third of girls and boys. In a study of lifestyle behaviours in Irish adolescents (12–18 years old) during the first lockdown, 41 20% and 30% of students reported exercising more and about the same, respectively, than 50% exercising less than pre-pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Perceived changes in lifestyle behaviours and in mental health and wellbeing of elementary school children during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Canada

et al. 2022

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Objectives The closure of schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19 prompted concerns of deteriorating lifestyle behaviours, mental health, and wellbeing of children, particularly those in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings. We assessed changes in lifestyle behaviours (physical activity, screen time, eating habits and bed/wake-up times), mental health and wellbeing during the first lockdown in Spring 2020 as perceived by school children from disadvantaged settings, and examined determinants of these changes. Study design Cross-sectional study. Methods We surveyed 1095 grade 4 to 6 students (age 9–12 years) from 20 schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in northern Canada. Students reported on changes in lifestyle behaviours, mental health and wellbeing during the lockdown. Determinants of these perceived changes were examined in multivariable regression models. Results A majority of students reported declines in physical activity, having late bed/wake-up times, and modest improvements in mental health and wellbeing. Many students reported increases rather than decreases in screen time and snacking. Positive attitudes toward being active, eating healthy, going to sleep on time and being healthy were strongly associated with maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviours during the lockdown. Positive attitudes toward active and healthy living and healthy lifestyle behaviours were associated with maintaining positive mental health and wellbeing during the lockdown. Conclusions The considerable changes in lifestyle behaviors, superimposed on the pre-existing burden of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, put this generation of children at increased risk for future chronic disease. Findings call for effective health promotion of active and healthy lifestyles to benefit both physical and mental health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Perceived changes in lifestyle behaviours and in mental health and wellbeing of elementary school children during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Canada

et al. 2022

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“…Results consistently showed reported decreases in PA time in children and youth, and this was demonstrated repeatedly in both longitudinal 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 77 and cross-sectional designs. 78 , 80 , 84 , 92 , 102 , 103 , 107 , 109 , 114 , 117 , 118 This result was echoed by those of other studies using similar constructs, including exercise time, 100 , 104 , 115 energy expenditure, 79 and MVPA. 116 , 121 , 122 , 123 However, 3 longitudinal research studies reported decreases in sports-related PA 65 , 73 , 77 but not in school and leisure-time PA, 73 habitual activity, 65 and nonorganized sports-related PA. 65 It is worth noting that although studies consistently identified overall decreases in PA, there were groups of children and youth in some studies who reported stability 125 or an increase 65 , 132 in unstructured PA. Several studies reported changes in the proportion of children and youth meeting PA guidelines.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“… 99 The remaining studies relied on nonvalidated measures of PA through self-reported questionnaires constructed by the researchers. These questionnaires quantified PA behaviors using several approaches, including subjective reporting of changes, 72 , 78 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 daily duration of PA, 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 days per week with at least 60 min of MVPA, 71 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 or frequency of weekly PA, 125 weekly PA duration, 76 , 77 , 118 , 126 outdoor activity, 78 , 116 , 119 , 127 ±3 h of PA per week, 128 , 129 percentage of time spent in PA, 130 , 131 or other means, as detailed in the list of included studies in Supplementary File 5. We identified 3 secondary data analyses.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 67 , 74 Not surprisingly, many studies, including 2 longitudinal designs, 65 , 72 reported greater decreases in PA time in older children/youth. 102 They also determined that younger children were more physically active during COVID-19 87 , 117 , 130 than were their older counterparts and found that grade differences were linked to differences in PA time. 85 , 90 Regarding individual behavior and fitness, greater PA 92 and fitness status 67 , 74 before lockdown were associated with higher PA levels during lockdown.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the movement behaviors of children and youth: A scoping review of evidence after the first year

Paterson

Ramage

Moore

et al. 2021

Journal of Sport and Health Science

158

152

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Purpose The objective of this scoping review was to summarize systematically the available literature investigating the relationships between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and movement behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep) of school-aged children (aged 5−11 years) and youth (aged 12−17 years) in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods Searches for published literature were conducted across 6 databases on 2 separate search dates (November 25, 2020, and January 27, 2021). Results were screened and extracted by 2 reviewers (DCP and KR) independently, using Covidence. Basic numeric analysis and content analysis were undertaken to present thematically the findings of included studies according to the associated impact on each movement behavior. Results A total of 1486 records were extracted from database searches; of those, 150 met inclusion criteria and were included for analysis. Of 150 articles, 110 were empirical studies examining physical activity ( n = 77), sedentary behavior/screen time ( n = 58), and sleep ( n = 55). Results consistently reported declines in physical-activity time, increases in screen time and total sedentary behavior, shifts to later bed and wake times, and increases in sleep duration. The reported impacts on movement behaviors were greater for youth than for children. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic is related to changes in the quantity and nature of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep among children and youth. There is an urgent need for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers to develop solutions for attenuating adverse changes in physical activity and screen time among children and youth.

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“…[10][11][12] Despite the existing literature, further research is needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's and adolescents' lifestyle, and on the relationship between lifestyle behaviours and well-being. Very few studies extended their assessment beyond June 2020, [12][13][14] and only one small (n=19) longitudinal study assessed lifestyle changes up to 2021. 15 In addition, studies assessing the associations between lifestyle and wellbeing during the pandemic were all based on a single-behaviour approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifestyle behaviours of children and adolescents during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland and their relation to well-being: a population-based study

Peralta

Camerini

Haile

et al. 2021

Preprint

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SUMMARYBackgroundPrevious studies assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s and adolescent’s lifestyle focused mainly on the first wave in early 2020. We aimed to describe changes in adherence to recommendations for physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep duration over the first two waves of the pandemic (March-May 2020 and October 2020-January 2021) in Switzerland, and to assess the associations of these lifestyle behaviours with life satisfaction and overall health, as indicators of well-being.MethodsWe included 3168 participants aged 5 to 18 years from four Swiss cantons. Participants or their parents completed repeated questionnaires and reported on their (child’s) PA, ST, sleep, life satisfaction, and overall health. We analysed lifestyle behaviours in terms of adherence to international recommendations. We used linear and logistic regression models to assess the associations of number of recommendations met and adherence patterns with well-being indicators.FindingsCompared to the pre-pandemic period, the percentage of participants meeting the recommendations for PA and ST decreased strikingly during March-May 2020, while there was a slight increase in those meeting recommendations for sleep. During October 2020-January 2021, the percentage of compliant children for PA and ST increased but remained lower than before the pandemic. Participants meeting all three recommendations were more likely to report excellent health (OR: 1·87 [1·15-3·08]) and a higher life satisfaction score (β: 0·59 [0·30-0·88]) than participants not meeting any recommendation. Adherence to recommendations for PA and sleep, PA and ST, and sleep and ST was similarly associated with both well-being indicators.InterpretationWe show a substantial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s and adolescents’ lifestyle behaviours with a partial recovery over time, and an association between lifestyle and well-being. Public health policies to promote children’s and adolescents’ well-being should target PA, ST, and sleep simultaneously.FundingCorona Immunitas.RESEARCH IN CONTEXTEvidence before the studyWe searched PubMed for studies assessing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s and adolescents’ lifestyle behaviours, published up to September 6, 2021, with no language restrictions. Of the studies found, nearly all compared lifestyle behaviours before and during the strict confinement in the first wave of the pandemic, and very few studies extended their assessment beyond June 2020. The only longitudinal study assessing lifestyle changes up to 2021 included a sample of nineteen boys. Some studies assessed the association between lifestyle behaviours and well-being after the outbreak of the pandemic, but all used a single-behaviour approach (i.e., evaluated only one lifestyle behaviour) and no study considered the combined contribution of physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep. In addition, most studies were cross-sectional and did not consider pre-pandemic lifestyle behaviours.Added value of this studyThis is the first study assessing changes in adherence to international recommendations regarding PA, ST, and sleep duration in children and adolescents during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and the joint associations of these lifestyle behaviours with well-being. We used data from 3168 children and adolescents from four different Swiss cantons. We included measurements of PA, ST, and sleep before the pandemic, during the first wave between March and May 2020, and during the second wave between October 2020 and January 2021. We also assessed life satisfaction and overall health as indicators of well-being, between January and April 2021. We showed that, compared to the pre-pandemic period, the proportion of children and adolescents following the recommendations for PA and ST decreased during the first wave (lockdown period), while there was a slight increase in those meeting recommendations for sleep. During the second wave, the prevalence of compliant children and adolescents for PA and ST recovered but remained below pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, we found an association between the number of recommendations met for lifestyle behaviours during the second wave and well-being assessed between January and April 2021. In contrast, there was no such association for the periods before the pandemic or during the lockdown. Participants following the recommendations for all three lifestyle behaviours or for combinations of two of them in the second wave were more likely to report excellent health and had a higher life satisfaction score, than those not meeting any recommendation.Implications of all the available evidenceOur findings demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong negative effect on children’s and adolescents’ lifestyle behaviours, but some recovery has taken place within the first year since the outbreak. Policymakers should imperatively consider the balance of disease prevention and promotion of a healthy lifestyle when (re-)activating restrictive measures. Given the already high prevalence of children and adolescents not meeting lifestyle recommendations in the pre-pandemic period, our findings highlight the urgent need for public health policies aiming to avoid permanent negative changes on children’s and adolescents’ lifestyle and to mitigate the health risks associated with adverse changes during the pandemic. In addition, our study indicates that lifestyle is an important predictor of children’s and adolescents’ well-being, and it further suggests that future public health strategies aiming to promote well-being should target sufficient time for PA and sleep as well as reduce ST.

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Understanding the impact of COVID‐19 on children’s physical activity levels in NSW, Australia

Cited by 19 publications

References 9 publications

Perceived changes in lifestyle behaviours and in mental health and wellbeing of elementary school children during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Canada

Perceived changes in lifestyle behaviours and in mental health and wellbeing of elementary school children during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Canada

Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the movement behaviors of children and youth: A scoping review of evidence after the first year

Lifestyle behaviours of children and adolescents during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland and their relation to well-being: a population-based study

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