Impact of Implementing and Lifting COVID-19 Lockdown on Study and Physical Activity Patterns Among Youths in China

Abstract

Introduction The youths’ study and physical activity (PA) patterns may have been affected by lockdown measures due to COVID-19. This study aimed to reveal how youths’ study and PA patterns had changed after implementing and lifting COVID-19 lockdown in China. Methods The COVID-19 Impact on Lifestyle Change Survey (COINLICS) was used, where 10,082 youth participants have voluntarily reported their study and PA patterns in the three periods before, during, and after COVID-19 lockdown. PA was measured as the weekly frequency of engaging in active transport for commuting/errands, leisure-time walking, leisure-time moderate-/vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), and moderate-/vigorous-intensity housework (MVH); study patterns were measured as the daily average study time and the major study modes. We assessed differences of these variables across educational levels, sexes, and periods. Results The significant decreases were generally observed during lockdown in the frequency of active transport for commuting/errands (1.3 to 0.2 days/week), leisure-time walking (1.0 to 0.2 days/week), leisure-time MVPA (0.7 to 0.3 days/week), and MVH (2.3 to 2.0 days/week), with heterogeneities existing between sexes and across educational levels, except for the increase in MVH engagement among graduate students, especially female (1.5 to 2.4 days/week). Rebounds were observed in the frequency of all activities except MVH after lifting lockdown (2.0 to 1.9 days/week). The average study time generally increased during lockdown, with more youths studying for 1-4 hours/day and less studying for <1 hour/day, and further increased after lockdown. A main shift of study modes has been from in-class to online study after implementing lockdown. Conclusions The youths’ PA level have generally decreased and study patterns significantly changed during and after lockdown in China. Our results would inform policy-makers and education administrators of the declined PA levels and changed study patterns among youths during COVID-19 lockdown for better policy making. In-class and/or extracurricular PA programs could be designed to counteract those effects under cooperation of youths’ parents.

Children and adolescents’ positive youth development qualities and internet addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study in China

“…The outbreak of COVID-19 may further accelerate Internet use and its related problems in children and adolescents (11)(12)(13)(14). In January 2020, the Ministry of Education of China issued notices to postpone the opening of spring semester of all primary and secondary schools, and required students to stay at home and study through the Internet, which lasted for more than 3 months.…”

Multi-dimensional impact of COVID-19 on active mobility in urban China: a scoping review of empirical knowledge

“…Of all the 20 studies, six studies focused on walking only (18,21,(33)(34)(35)(36), eight focused on cycling only (17,22,24,(37)(38)(39)(40)(41), and another six studies included both cycling and walking (23,(42)(43)(44)(45)(46). Bikesharing is a concerned research topic that five studies focused only on it (17,22,24,37,41), three of which were about dock-less bike-sharing (DBS) (17,22,37), one about station-based bike-sharing (SBBS) (24), and one about both kinds (41).…”

“…Bikesharing is a concerned research topic that five studies focused only on it (17,22,24,37,41), three of which were about dock-less bike-sharing (DBS) (17,22,37), one about station-based bike-sharing (SBBS) (24), and one about both kinds (41). 13 studies focused on general urban residents (17,(22)(23)(24)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45), while another of seven studied specific research populations, like youths (33,35,36,46), middle-aged and older adult people (18,21) and disabled people (34). The earliest study was published in October 2020.…”

“…A survey by questionnaire was the most used method as 13 studies adopted this method (18, 22, 23, 33-36, 38, 40, 43-46), with the sample size range from 127 (22) to 10,082 (35). Secondary analysis of existing data is another commonly used research method based on data collected from relevant companies (n = 4) (17,24,37,41).…”

Lactating nurses' experiences of return to work after lifting COVID-19 lockdown: A qualitative study

“…One survey showed that 41.8 % of mothers felt that breastfeeding was protected by the lockdown, but 27.0 % said that the lockdown created many barriers to breastfeeding [ 11 ]. As the pathogenicity and lethality of Omicron declined and treatment improved steadily, the lockdown measures were lifted [ 12 , 13 ]. People infected with COVID-19 were no longer isolated centrally [ 14 ], which might increase the risk of people being exposed to the virus, especially nurses on the front line of the epidemic [ 15 ].…”