Global effect of COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep among 3- to 5-year-old children: a longitudinal study of 14 countries
Authors
Okely, Anthony D.Kariippanon, Katharina E.
Guan, Hongyan
Taylor, Ellie K.
Suesse, Thomas
Cross, Penny L.
Chong, Kar Hau
Suherman, Adang
Turab, Ali
Staiano, Amanda E.
Ha, Amy S.
El Hamdouchi, Asmaa
Baig, Aqsa
Poh, Bee Koon
Del Pozo-Cruz, Borja
Chan, Cecilia H. S.
Nyström, Christine Delisle
Koh, Denise
Webster, E. Kipling
Lubree, Himangi
Tang, Hong Kim
Baddou, Issad
Del Pozo-Cruz, Jesus
Wong, Jyh Eiin
Sultoni, Kuston
Nacher, Maria
Löf, Marie
Cui, Mingming
Hossain, Mohammad Sorowar
Chathurangana, P. W. Prasad
Kand, Uddhavi
Wickramasinghe, V. P. Pujitha
Calleia, Rebecca
Ferdous, Shameema
Van Kim, Thanh
Wang, Xiaojuan
Draper, Catherine E.
Issue Date
2021-05-17
Metadata
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Background The restrictions associated with the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes to young children’s daily routines and habits. The impact on their participation in movement behaviours (physical activity, sedentary screen time and sleep) is unknown. This international longitudinal study compared young children’s movement behaviours before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Parents of children aged 3–5 years, from 14 countries (8 low- and middle-income countries, LMICs) completed surveys to assess changes in movement behaviours and how these changes were associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys were completed in the 12 months up to March 2020 and again between May and June 2020 (at the height of restrictions). Physical activity (PA), sedentary screen time (SST) and sleep were assessed via parent survey. At Time 2, COVID-19 factors including level of restriction, environmental conditions, and parental stress were measured. Compliance with the World Health Organizations (WHO) Global guidelines for PA (180 min/day [≥60 min moderate- vigorous PA]), SST (≤1 h/day) and sleep (10-13 h/day) for children under 5 years of age, was determined. Results Nine hundred- forty-eight parents completed the survey at both time points. Children from LMICs were more likely to meet the PA (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AdjOR] = 2.0, 95%Confidence Interval [CI] 1.0,3.8) and SST (AdjOR = 2.2, 95%CI 1.2,3.9) guidelines than their high-income country (HIC) counterparts. Children who could go outside during COVID-19 were more likely to meet all WHO Global guidelines (AdjOR = 3.3, 95%CI 1.1,9.8) than those who were not. Children of parents with higher compared to lower stress were less likely to meet all three guidelines (AdjOR = 0.5, 95%CI 0.3,0.9). Conclusion PA and SST levels of children from LMICs have been less impacted by COVID-19 than in HICs. Ensuring children can access an outdoor space, and supporting parents’ mental health are important prerequisites for enabling pre-schoolers to practice healthy movement behaviours and meet the Global guidelines.Affiliation
Institute of Public and Preventive Healthae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1186/s12889-021-10852-3
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