Changes in lifestyle behaviours during the COVID‐19 confinement in Spanish children: A longitudinal analysis from the MUGI project

Abstract

Summary Background Home confinement during the COVID‐19 pandemic could have affected lifestyle behaviours of children, however evidence about it is emerging and yet scarce. Objectives To examine the effects of the COVID‐19 confinement on lifestyle behaviours in Spanish children, and to assess the influence of social vulnerabilities on changes in lifestyle behaviours. Methods Physical activity (PA), screen time, sleep time, adherence to the Mediterranean diet (KIDMED) and sociodemographic information were longitudinally assessed before (N = 291, 12.1 ± 2.4 years, 47.8% girls) and during the COVID‐19 confinement (N = 113, 12.0 ± 2.6 years, 48.7% girls) by online questionnaires. Results During the COVID‐19 confinement, PA (−91 ± 55 min/d, P < .001) and screen time (±2.6 h/d, P < .001) worsened, whereas the KIDMED score improved (0.5 ± 2.2 points, P < .02). The decrease of PA was higher in children with mother of non‐Spanish origin (−1.8 ± 0.2 vs −1.5 ± 0.1 h/d, P < .04) or with non‐university studies (−1.7 ± 0.1 vs −1.3 ± 0.1 h/d, P < .005) in comparison to their counterparts. Conclusion This study evidence the negative impact of the COVID‐19 confinement on PA levels and sedentary behaviours of Spanish children. These findings should be taken into account to design and implement public health strategies for preserving children´s health during and after the pandemic, particularly, in children with social vulnerabilities.

Changes in Healthy Behaviors and Meeting 24-h Movement Guidelines in Spanish and Brazilian Preschoolers, Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown

“…A very low proportion of participants met the 24-h movement guidelines in both Spain (0.3%) and Brazil (7.5%). Our findings support those of others who reported a decrease in the time spent in PA [ 14 , 17 , 18 ] and in meeting PA recommendations [ 12 , 14 ].…”

“…Our findings also show an increase in the ST of preschoolers, children and adolescents in both Spain and Brazil during the COVID-19 lockdown. These results match with other studies performed with information about the COVID-19 lockdown [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. This observation could be explained by the circumstances of the COVID-19 lockdown, which could facilitate the “displacement theory”.…”

“…In order to identify how best to support families in the COVID-19 context, it is necessary to understand how movement behaviors have changed and impacted families. While studies performed in Canada [ 12 , 13 ], China [ 14 ], Italy [ 15 ], Croatia [ 16 ] and Spain [ 17 , 18 ] have analyzed the changes in PA, ST and sleep duration in young people, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that provides information on changes in meeting the 24-h movement guidelines in Spain and Brazil during the COVID-19 lockdown. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the change in PA, ST and sleep duration of preschoolers, children and adolescents and the prevalence of meeting the 24-h guidelines during the lockdown caused by COVID-19 in a sample from Spain and Brazil.…”

Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

“…The second subcategory describes surveys aimed at capturing the impact of NPIs on a range of health behaviors such as sleep, physical activity, sex, and substance use. Two studies on children noted how COVID-19 restrictions led to less physical activity and sleep disturbances but to more screen and sleeping time [177] , [185] . The findings hint to a complex picture with some positive and negative effects of home confinement.…”

Exposome changes in primary school children following the wide population non-pharmacological interventions implemented due to COVID-19 in Cyprus: A national survey

“…Similarly to the decrease in contacts, children stayed more hours at home following the re-opening of schools (p<0.001), both in weekends and weekdays (median [Q1, Q3]: 20 [12,24] and 15 [10,20], respectively, compared with 15 [10,19] and 12 [7,15] in the prelockdown period) (Fig. S18).…”