8 The Effect of Decreased Physical Activity on Physical and Mental Health of School-Aged Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Autor: Maggie McCann, Kriti Kumar, Natasha Lepore, Emma Metivier, Kelcie Lahey, Hailey Barootes, Karissa Holyer, Michael Miller, Rod Lim
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Paediatrics & Child Health. 27:e3-e4
ISSN: 1918-1485
1205-7088
DOI: 10.1093/pch/pxac100.007
Popis: Background School-aged children are recommended to complete at least one hour of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity per day. North American data has shown that due to COVID-19 restrictions placed on in person schooling and extracurricular activities, children were not meeting recommended levels of physical activity. Additional barriers to activity during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic included lack of access to public facilities including community centers, parks, and outdoor recreation. Decreased physical activity in children has been shown to have a negative impact on both physical and mental health, and childhood development. However, there is a paucity of literature on parents’ perceptions of the association between physical activity and physical and mental health. Objectives The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on levels of physical activity and parents’ perceptions surrounding physical activity and physical and mental health. Design/Methods An online survey was distributed to parents of school-aged children aged 4-13 in Ontario. The survey included questions regarding demographics, children’s physical activity prior to and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and parental perceptions regarding the pandemic’s impact on mental and physical health. This study received ethics approval, was hosted on the REDCapTM platform, and distributed from February-June 2021 through a local school board, the Pediatrics section of the Ontario Medical Association, and through social media. Results Of 361 participants, 90.4% strongly agreed that physical activity was important for mental health, and 92.2% strongly agreed that physical activity was important for physical health. There was a statistically significant decrease in the overall mean number of hours of physical activity per week between pre-COVID and the first wave of COVID (mean difference = 9.34 hours, SD = 10.06, p Conclusion This survey highlights that parents themselves perceived a significant negative impact on children’s mental and physical well-being with decreased physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. This emphasizes the importance of retaining access to recreational facilities and extracurricular activities. Future research includes identifying ways to re-engage parents and children with physical activity during times of decreased access.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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