Physical activity behaviour and screen time in Dutch children during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Pre‐, during‐ and post‐school closures

Abstract

Summary Background Measures during the COVID‐19 pandemic, including the closure of schools and sports facilities, may have lasting impact on the physical activity (PA) of children that persists for a long time. Objective To investigate the effect of COVID‐19 measures on screen time and PA in Dutch children pre‐, during‐ and post‐school closures. Methods In cohort A (n = 102, 10.5 ± 3.6 years, 42.4% boys), data on PA and screen time during the lockdown were collected using a questionnaire. In cohort B (n = 131, 10.2 ± 0.9 years, 43.5% boys), data on PA and screen time were collected using a questionnaire and accelerometry 1 year before and after school closure. Results In cohort A, 62% reported less total PA. Self‐reported screen time on week days increased 34 ± 105 min/d during the lockdown. In cohort B, sedentary time as measured by accelerometry, increased by 45 ± 67 min/d and only 20% reached PA levels of 60 min/d compared to 64% in May 2019. Self‐reported screen time increased by 59 ± 112 min/d and 62 ± 130 min/d during week and weekend days, respectively. Conclusions Children were less physically active, and screen time was higher during and after the school closures due to the COVID‐19 lockdown. This is alarming as an active lifestyle in children is crucial in preventing chronic diseases such as obesity.

Children’s Independent Mobility and Physical Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study with Families

“…We present a novel qualitative contribution to existing quantitative data exploring COVID-19-related changes in children’s movement behaviours, include the perceptions of children regarding their pandemic experiences, and provide data from families in non-urban contexts. Online self-reported surveys have identified a general decrease in physical activity during the pandemic, including a reduction in the number of children meeting physical activity guidelines and a specific reduction in some domains of physical activity including outside play and sport [ 16 ], even after school and sports facilities re-opened [ 21 ]. Findings from our current work support these overall trends and provide a nuanced description of how families are coping with COVID-19 restrictions, reflecting daily anxieties related to disease transmission and ongoing adaptations to play routines to maintain friendship networks.…”

“…Factors associated with an increase in physical activity during the pandemic were family encouragement, parental engagement, and dog ownership [ 16 ]. Variation in changes to movement behaviours during the pandemic has been attributed to regional difference in public health policies including school, facility and park closures [ 21 , 22 ], neighbourhood environments such as population density and proximity to major roads [ 20 ], and family-level factors such as living in a single-family versus multi-family dwelling [ 16 , 23 ]. Previous qualitative work conducted in urban areas has identified parental stress, uncertainty in navigating pandemic restrictions, and reduced access to green spaces as factors negatively impacting children’s movement behaviours during COVID-19 [ 23 ].…”

Recommendations for the urgent need to vaccinate school-aged and adolescent children against COVID-19 in the Asia–Pacific region

“…Once the increased risk of infection in children is recognized by policy makers and society, it is likely that there will be prolonged school closures in the Western Pacific region, the negative impact of which cannot be ignored [ 15 ]. Several studies reported that during the school closures, the time spent on physical activity decreased but sedentary time increased [ 16 , 17 ], which may cause overweight in children [ 18 ]. In addition, school closure result in undernutrition in those children who depend on free meals in schools [ 19 ].…”

“…During the school closure period, i.e., the home-based learning period, children’s sleeping time became longer than that before school closure, bedtime was later, and wake-up time was much later than that before school closure [ 17 ], indicating that children’s life rhythm has been disturbed. Moreover, increased screen time due to home-based learning using internet materials was thought to have had some impact as well [ 16 , 20 ], and even non-academic screen time also increased, which might affect children’s sleep [ 17 ]. Furthermore, children’s mental health has been affected, with increasing reports of behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, and stress [ 21 , 22 ].…”

Goal content and attitudes toward physical activity among primary school students during COVID-19 conditional movement control order

“…Therefore, developing good goals and attitudes toward PA is a vital step for one to stay healthy. This is especially important in times of the current COVID-19 pandemic which has severely impact the levels of PA among children in reducing their health-related quality of life ( Ten Velde et al, 2021 ). Inevitably, a better understanding of the primary school students’ goal and attitudes would provide invaluable feedback to help the PE educators plan, strategize and make better teaching-related choices according to the students’ learning motivation and self-management skills in PA participation during the pandemic.…”