The Impact of COVID-19 on Eating Environments and Activity in Early Childhood Education and Care in Alberta, Canada: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Lynne M Z Lafave,Ceilidh Mcconnell,Alexis D Webster,Mark R Lafave,Nadine Van Wyk

doi:10.3390/nu13124247

Lynne M Z Lafave, Ceilidh Mcconnell + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124247

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Journal: Nutrients	Publication Date: Nov 26, 2021
Citations: 1	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Mount Royal University

Abstract

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) environments influence children’s early development and habits that track across a lifespan. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 government-mandated guidelines on physical activity (PA) and eating environments in ECEC settings. This cross-sectional study involved the recruitment of 19 ECEC centers pre-COVID (2019) and 15 ECEC centers during COVID (2020) in Alberta, Canada (n = 34 ECEC centers; n = 83 educators; n = 361 preschoolers). Educators completed the CHEERS (Creating Healthy Eating and activity Environments Survey) and MEQ (Mindful Eating Questionnaire) self-audit tools while GT3X+ ActiGraph accelerometers measured preschooler PA. The CHEERS healthy eating environment subscale was greater during COVID-19 (5.97 ± 0.52; 5.80 ± 0.62; p = 0.02) and the overall score positively correlated with the MEQ score (r = 0.20; p = 0.002). Preschoolers exhibited greater hourly step counts (800 ± 189; 649 ± 185), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (9.3 ± 3.0 min/h; 7.9 ± 3.2 min/h) and lower sedentary times (42.4 ± 3.9 min/h; 44.1 ± 4.9 min/h) during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID, respectively (p < 0.05). These findings suggest the eating environment and indices of child physical activity were better in 2020, which could possibly be attributed to a change in government-mandated COVID-19 guideline policy.

Highlights

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a global pandemic on11 March 2020 by the WHO and early childhood service programs in Alberta shut down on 16 March 2020 [1,2]
The results of this study demonstrate that a sample of preschoolers throughout the province of Alberta spent 16 and 17.9 min/h engaging in any-intensity physical activity (TPA) in 2019 and 2020, respectively
The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 government-mandated guidelines on healthy eating and physical activity environments in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings from baseline measurements of a larger multi-year health and wellness initiative

Summary

Introduction

11 March 2020 by the WHO and early childhood service programs in Alberta shut down on 16 March 2020 [1,2]. One month after the initial shut down, early childhood education and care (ECEC) centers in Alberta were allowed to re-open under new regulated guidelines implemented minimize the spread of the virus [3]. General guidelines in Alberta, Canada included limitations of in-person visitation, stringent surface sanitization, and the establishment of cohorts to reduce contact with colleagues and other families. Physical activity-related guidelines included the sanitization of play structures between cohort use, the designation of play equipment to a single cohort, and the use of alternative spaces for physical activity such as community walks, supervised play in local parks and safe open spaces, or public playgrounds with children engaging in hand washing before and after play These new guidelines altered the usual functioning of center-based childcare

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