Abstract
Background: During the great lockdown in Spain due to SARS-CoV-2, in between the months of March and June 2020, dietary and physical activity habits were modified in children. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of the lockdown on anthropometric parameters in children aged 11/12 years. Methods: Fifty Spanish children aged 11/12 years (M = 11.40; SD = 0.50) participated: 33 (66%) boys and 17 (34%) girls. For data collection, we used an anthropometry kit; the Alpha-Fitness Battery, a validated instrument to assess dietary intake, habits and practices; and an ad hoc survey to collect sociodemographic and other data under investigation. Results: There were significant differences in the anthropometric parameters measured and in the results obtained for Body Mass Index (BMI) and body fat percentage pre- and post-lockdown in both boys and girls (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found in waist-circumference measurements (p > 0.05). Conclusions: There is evidence of a significant impact of the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown on anthropometric parameters in boys and girls aged 11/12 years.
Highlights
On 31 December 2019, a new type of coronavirus appeared in the city of Wuhan (China) that infects and replicates in the pneumocytes and macrophages of the lung parenchyma, where the ACE-2 cell receptor resides, causing symptoms of fever, dry cough, lymphopenia, dyspnoea and pneumonia in its severe form that can lead to the patient’s death
The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the average value of the variable between the two pre-lockdown measurements and the post-lockdown measurement, except for waist circumference (p = 0.690) where there is no statistically significant difference between the second pre-lockdown and postlockdown data collection
No statistically significant differences were observed in some anthropometric parameters between the two pre-lockdown measurements
Summary
On 31 December 2019, a new type of coronavirus appeared in the city of Wuhan (China) that infects and replicates in the pneumocytes and macrophages of the lung parenchyma, where the ACE-2 cell receptor resides, causing symptoms of fever, dry cough, lymphopenia, dyspnoea and pneumonia in its severe form that can lead to the patient’s death This virus has been called SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 and only one month after its emergence in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it an international emergency disease [1,2]. In Spain, 98 days of home lockdown were decreed between 15 March and 21 June 2020 for all people who did not have essential jobs, limiting by Royal Decree the movement of the population for essential activities [3] This great lockdown led to the closure of all educational establishments at all levels of education, from nursery schools to universities. Conclusions: There is evidence of a significant impact of the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown on anthropometric parameters in boys and girls aged 11/12 years
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