COVID-19: Physical Activity and Quality of Life in a Sample of Swiss School Children during and after the First Stay-at-Home

Valentin Benzing, Patrice Gaillard, David Scheidegger, Alain Dössegger, Claudio R. Nigg and Mirko Schmidt
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Valentin Benzing: Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Patrice Gaillard: Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
David Scheidegger: Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Alain Dössegger: Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen (SFISM), 2532 Magglingen, Switzerland
Claudio R. Nigg: Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Mirko Schmidt: Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: COVID-19 restrictions and the instructions to stay at home (SaH) may have had an impact on child behavior including physical activity (PA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Switzerland. Therefore, we investigated PA and HRQoL during and after the SaH in 57 Swiss school children aged 7 to 12 years ( M = 10.44; SD = 1.34). PA was measured using accelerometry (Actigraph GT3X) and HRQoL using the Kid-KINDL R questionnaire. During and post data was compared using paired sample t -tests. Independent t -tests were used to compare the HRQoL of physically active children with non-physically active children. PA in light ( d = −0.56), moderate ( d = −0.44), moderate-to-vigorous ( d = −0.28) as well as overall HRQoL ( d = −0.66), psychological well-being ( d = −0.48), self-esteem ( d = −0.39), friends ( d = −0.70) and everyday functioning ( d = −0.44), were significantly lower during SaH than afterwards. Children who adhered to PA recommendations (+60 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA) during SaH had a better overall HRQoL ( d = 0.61) and psychological well-being ( d = 0.56) than those who did not. Since PA levels and HRQoL were lower during SaH compared to afterwards, it seems that the restrictions negatively impacted children’s PA and HRQoL. During future SaHs, promoting children’s PA and HRQoL seems important.

Keywords: physical exercise; well-being; lockdown; Corona pandemic; 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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