Investigating the Effectiveness of Virtual Physical Activity Education on Students’ Quality of Life of Karaj in 2020

Abstract

Background: Sedentary lifestyle is regarded as one of the main risk factors for obesity and chronic diseases. As schools provide students with important opportunities for physical activity, their closure, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, had a detrimental impact on vulnerable populations, particularly youth and school students. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of virtual physical education on students’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This community trial was conducted with an experimental and a control group. For this purpose, 300 students aged 13 to 15 years, selected among students of the 1st year of high school, were selected from the four education districts of the urban areas of Karaj city in the year 2020 using a cluster sampling method. The selected students were randomly assigned to the two groups of intervention and control, each with 150 people. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of inclusion criteria and demographic characteristics. Following group assignment, the intervention group received virtual physical education for eight 30-minute sessions, one session each week. All subjects completed the Physical Activity and Quality of Life Questionnaires before and after the training. The data were analyzed with SPSS software version 20, using the chi-square test, paired t-test, and independent t-test. Results: The mean and standard deviation of the scores in almost all areas of quality of life (both physical activity and mental health) in the intervention group had a significant improvement after the training courses (P<0.05). After training, the mean scores of quality of life in the virtual education group were significantly greater than control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The virtual school-based physical activity intervention had positive effects on children’s psychological and psychological wellbeing. The online educational method could provide customizable physical education learning activities as a suitable step in promoting physical activity engagement for different groups of students.