The Impact of COVID-19 on the Interrelation of Physical Activity, Screen Time and Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents in Germany: Results of the Motorik-Modul Study.

Kathrin Wunsch,Anke Hanssen-Doose,Doris Oriwol,Alexander Woll,Simon Kolb,Ana Eichsteller,Alexander Burchartz,Claudia Niessner,Carina Nigg,Steffen C E Schmidt,Annette Worth

doi:10.3390/children8020098

Kathrin Wunsch, Anke Hanssen-Doose + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/children8020098

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Abstract

Reduced physical activity (PA) and prolonged screen time (ST) negatively influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a protective factor against illness and mortality. Studies addressing the relationship between PA, ST, and mental health in youth are scarce, especially in times with high mental health burdens like the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this examination was to investigate whether PA, ST, and HRQoL before COVID-19 predict PA, ST, and HRQoL during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants from the Motorik-Modul Study (MoMo; N = 1711; Mage = 10.36 (SD = 4.04) years, female = 49.8%; healthy weight = 76.8%) self-reported their PA and ST as well as HRQoL both before and during COVID-19. Relationships of all variables, from before to during COVID-19, were investigated through a path prediction model. Results showed all variables during COVID-19 were predicted by the respective levels before COVID-19, independent of gender and age. Cross-lags revealed a negative influence of before COVID-19 ST on during COVID-19 PA. HRQoL before COVID-19 was positively associated with during COVID-19 PA in children younger than 10 years and females, but not in adolescents and boys. As age- and gender-independent negative influence of before COVID-19 ST on during COVID-19 PA has been detected, health policy may be advised to focus on a general reduction in ST instead of PA enhancement to ensure high PA levels.

Highlights

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized COVID-19, a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as a pandemic [1]
Nothing is known yet about how physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior including screen time (ST), and mental health in children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic relate to each other. The importance of this topic becomes obvious by looking at the current guidelines for PA recently released by the World Health Organization (WHO; [15]), where sedentary behavior was included in the activity recommendations for the first time
Pre-COVID-19, a total of 2843 children and adolescents that would have been eligible for our study participated in the measurement

Summary

Introduction

On 11 March 2020, the WHO characterized COVID-19, a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as a pandemic [1]. To slow down infection rates, several public health precautions have been adopted worldwide, including extensive physical distancing, isolation policies, and closures of schools, parks, sports facilities, and recreational sites, leading to a restructuring of everyday life These precautions are assumed to reinforce the current pandemics of global physical inactivity and sedentary behavior [2,3,4], mainly due to school and office closures and suspension of organized sports facilities and activities. Screen time (ST) inevitably increased during the pandemic, as children and adolescents were forced to use media for communicational purposes (e.g., meeting online with friends for educational purposes and to prevent isolation) [12,13] Due to these and other facets of daily life being transferred to an online environment, time spent in physical activity (PA) (e.g., commuting to school and leisure time activities) was attenuated [14]. The importance of this topic becomes obvious by looking at the current guidelines for PA recently released by the World Health Organization (WHO; [15]), where sedentary behavior was included in the activity recommendations for the first time

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