Influence of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity in children: A scoping review of the literature.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Yomoda, Kenji Kurita, Shohei
Copyright Year	2021
Abstract	Background/objectivesThere is an urgent concern about physical inactivity among children caused by recent restrictions for containing the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This scoping review aims to identify the impact of the pandemic and related factors on children's physical activity (PA).MethodsTwenty-one studies published in 2020 that evaluated PA among children under the age of 18 were extracted from electronic databases. The survey contexts, samples, PA measurement methods, and main findings of each study were categorized and summarized.ResultsThe review yielded the following results: 1) the PA of children and adolescents mostly decreased; 2) the decrease in PA was more prevalent in boys and older children and adolescents; 3) the decrease in PA was less prevalent in children who live in detached houses, houses with more space, rural areas, and with more family members; and 4) parental support and consideration of location and activity types may help children maintain or increase their PA during the pandemic.ConclusionThis review shows a decline in PA among children and raises concerns about the pandemic's impact on physical and mental health. Declines in PA appear greater among children who participate in organized team sports and those with limited space and opportunity for habitual PA at home or in their neighborhood. Public support for children and families should consider these findings to prevent the negative effects of physical inactivity.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC8164031&blobtype=pdf
ISSN	1728869X
Journal	Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness [J Exerc Sci Fit]
Volume Number	19
DOI	10.1016/j.jesf.2021.04.002
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8164031
Issue Number	3
PubMed reference number	34135976
e-ISSN	22265104
Language	English
Publisher	The Society of Chinese Scholars on Exercise Physiology and Fitness. Published by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd.
Publisher Date	2021-05-11
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active. © 2021 The Society of Chinese Scholars on Exercise Physiology and Fitness. Published by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd.
Subject Keyword	Child health COVID-19 Exercise Scoping review
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Pharmacology (nursing) Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Sports Science Pharmaceutical Science