Comparison of Estonian Schoolchildren’s Physical Activity and Fitness Indicators before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Period of Restricted Mobility

Saima Kuu (), Joe Noormets, Triin Rääsk, Kirsti Pedak, Viktor Saaron, Karin Baskin and Kristjan Port
Additional contact information
Saima Kuu: School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
Joe Noormets: School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
Triin Rääsk: School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
Kirsti Pedak: School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
Viktor Saaron: School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
Karin Baskin: School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
Kristjan Port: School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: It is recognized that the time adolescents spend on physical activity, and the corresponding physical fitness indicators, have diminished over time. However, the exact impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restriction period on physical activity and health-related physical fitness indicators remains unclear. This study sought to determine if and to what degree the primary indicators of physical activity (exercise frequency, exercise intensity, and outdoor physical activity) and health-related physical fitness (strength and endurance) among schoolchildren have shifted, by comparing data from before and after the coronavirus pandemic period. Students aged 12–17 years took part in the study. The physical activity questionnaire and fitness tests were conducted in the autumn of 2017 and spring of 2022. The main results show that moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity time and time spent actively outdoors have decreased among adolescents ( p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in exercise frequency ( p > 0.05). However, there was a statistically significant decline in strength (standing broad jump, bent arm hang) ( p < 0.05) and endurance (20 m shuttle run, curl-up) ( p < 0.01) when comparing results from before and after the COVID-19 pandemic restriction period. In conclusion, restricted mobility had the greatest impact on the time spent outdoors and, in turn, on physical fitness.

Keywords: physical activity; physical fitness; schoolchildren; COVID-19 pandemic; restricted mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/744/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/744/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:6:p:744-:d:1410283

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().