The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the COVID-19-related confinement and social restrictions affected the levels of physical fitness and academic achievement in primary school French children. A total of 206 primary school children (106 before confinements and 100 after restrictions) completed a test battery evaluating their anthropometric characteristics, body compositions, activity preferences, cognitive performances and physical fitness. The performance of the Standing Long Jump was better at T0 (169.9 ± 142.5 cm) compared to T1 (135.2 ± 31.4 cm) (p = 0.0367), and the Medicine Ball Throw performance declined from T0 to T1 (297.3 ± 81.1 cm vs. 249 ± 52 cm; p < 0.0001). Motor skills (26.9 ± 6.2 s vs. 30.9 ± 5.4 s; p < 0.0001), the shuttle-run test (stages completed), Maximal Aerobic Speed, and the estimated VO2max were lower at T1 compared to T0 (p < 0.0001). Executive functioning was found to be greater at T0 compared to T1 (p < 0.0001). Explicit liking or wanting for sedentary or physical activities did not change between T0 and T1. Both overall physical fitness and cognitive performance drastically declined among primary school French children with the COVID-19-related public health restrictions, which reinforces the need to urgently develop preventive strategies in anticipation of further mitigation measures.

No abstract

No abstract

School-based multi-component educational interventions have been encouraged to improve children’s movement behaviors. The present study evaluates the effect of the Globe Trotter Initiative on physical activity (PA) level, sedentary time, physical fitness and activity preferences in primary school children. A total of 361 children (9–10 years) participated in this cluster-randomized trial. Nine schools were randomized as control (CON, 121 children) or Globe Trotter schools (GT, 240 children). Physical fitness, body composition, anthropometric characteristics, PA level, sedentary behaviors, physical self-perception, and activity preferences were evaluated at baseline (T0) and after the one-month intervention (T1). Grip strength performance and overall completion time of the obstacle course show a significant time effect (p < 0.001) in both groups (no group effect). PA level and physical self-perception did not significantly show time nor group effects. The sedentary behavior score displays a significant “time × group” interaction effect (p = 0.04) with a significant reduction between T0 and T1 in the GT group only (p < 0.001). The explicit liking for sedentary activities shows a significant “time × group” interaction (p = 0.02) with a significant decrease between T0 and T1 in the GT group only (p < 0.001). The explicit wanting for sedentary activities show a significant “time × group” interaction (p = 0.02) with a significant decrease between T0 and T1 in the GT group only (p < 0.001). The short-term, multi-component, behavioral, educational GT intervention had beneficial effects on primary-school-aged children’s sedentary time and implicit preference for physical over sedentary activities.