Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors in Primary School Children in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Association with Parents’ Behaviors

Osama Aljuhani (), Rola Alsuwailem, Abdulelah Al-Salawi and Gavin Sandercock
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Osama Aljuhani: Department of Physical Education, College of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, King Saud University, Riyadh 4545, Saudi Arabia
Rola Alsuwailem: Department of Exercise Physiology, College of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, King Saud University, Riyadh 4545, Saudi Arabia
Abdulelah Al-Salawi: Department of Sport and Recreation Management, College of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, King Saud University, Riyadh 4545, Saudi Arabia
Gavin Sandercock: School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a few studies used accelerometers to assess physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior in the family context. This study aimed to assess children and parents’ moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time, as well as their relationship in MVPA and sedentary time. Data were collected from 30 parent–child dyads during the COVID-pandemic for seven days, using a hip-worn accelerometer. Children and parents engaged in 65.6 and 34.6 min/day in MVPA and 442.2 and 427.9 min/day sedentary, respectively. There was no evidence of gender difference in MVPA and sedentary between boys and girls. Male parent spent more time in MVPA than female parents. A total of 50% of children and 53.3% of parents met the recommended PA. Children’s MVPA and sedentary time were both correlated with that of their parents. Adjusted linear regression showed that only child MVPA was negatively associated with their parents’ MVPA. There is evidence that multi-level interventions involving parents and children are more effective than interventions focusing on a single group. This study also provides evidence to support the link between MVPA and sedentary time between parents and children. Generalization of the findings is difficult due to the bias of self-selection sample.

Keywords: physical activity; accelerometer; Saudi Arabia; school children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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