Evidencing the Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Imposed Lockdown Measures on Fitness Status in Adolescents: A Preliminary Report.

Mirela Sunda,Damir Sekulic,Ivan Peric,Anamarija Jurcev Savicevic,Barbara Gilic

doi:10.3390/healthcare9060681

Mirela Sunda, Damir Sekulic + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9060681

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Abstract

It was established that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in decreased physical activity levels, potentially leading to reduced physical fitness. The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on fitness indices in adolescents. We observed high school adolescents (33% girls; aged 15–17 years) divided into two cohorts. The first cohort (control; n = 48) included adolescents who were in school during the 2018/2019 year, while the second cohort (lockdown; n = 66) was observed during the school year 2019/2020 when COVID-19 lockdown measures were imposed. Variables included body height, body mass, BMI, sit-ups, and the 600 m dash. Both cohorts were tested at the beginning and at the end of the observed school years. A factorial analysis of variance for repeated measurements evidenced an improvement in sit-ups and the 600 m dash in the control, and a decrease of the same capacities in the lockdown cohort. In the lockdown cohort, a decrease in muscular fitness was more evident in boys than in girls. No differential changes between cohorts were evidenced in anthropometrics. Results suggest that the COVID-19 lockdown negatively influenced muscular fitness status in adolescents, especially in boys.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic, declared at the beginning of 2020 due to the fast spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has dramatically changed the lives of people worldwide [1]
Results from studies conducted on adolescents from Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina evidenced decreased physical activity levels (PAL) as a consequence of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic [13,14,15,16]
This study demonstrated a decrease in muscular fitness of adolescents as a consequence of the COVID-19 lockdown, with a more significant decline among boys

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic, declared at the beginning of 2020 due to the fast spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has dramatically changed the lives of people worldwide [1]. The imposed restrictions resulted in reduced movement opportunities and decreased physical activity levels (PAL). A study conducted on adolescents from Ireland reported that 50% of adolescents included in the study exhibited decreased PAL during the COVID-19 lockdown [5]. Spanish adolescents presented decreases in both moderate and vigorous PAL by 29.5% and 18.3%, respectively, during the lockdown [6]. Results from studies conducted on adolescents from Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina evidenced decreased PAL as a consequence of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic [13,14,15,16]. The PAL of Croatian adolescents decreased from 2.97 ± 0.61 to 2.63 ± 0.68 (as measured by the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents, or, PAQ-A) [14]. There is a global concern that such a dramatic decrease in PAL will have detrimental consequences on the physical fitness of youth

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