Physical activity and sitting time prior to and during COVID-19 lockdown in Austrian high-school students

Klaus Greier; Clemens Drenowatz; Theresa Bischofer; Gloria Petrasch; Carla Greier; Armando Cocca; Gerhard Ruedl; Klaus Greier; Clemens Drenowatz; Theresa Bischofer; Gloria Petrasch; Carla Greier; Armando Cocca; Gerhard Ruedl

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2021043

AIMS Public Health

2021, Volume 8, Issue 3: 531-540. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2021043

Previous Article Next Article

Research article Special Issues

Physical activity and sitting time prior to and during COVID-19 lockdown in Austrian high-school students

1.
Division of Physical Education, Private Educational College (KPH-ES), Stams, Austria
2.
Department of Sports Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
3.
Division of Sport, Physical Activity and Health, University of Education Upper Austria, Linz, Austria

Received: 11 May 2021 Accepted: 22 July 2021 Published: 26 July 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has led in many countries to the implementation of policies that mandate social distancing and movement restrictions. While these measures are warranted in order to minimize the spread of the virus they may have detrimental effects on various behaviors, including physical activity (PA). The present study examined PA and sitting time in 14 to18-year-old Austrian high school students prior to and during the second COVID-19 lockdown in Austria. Data was collected via an online questionnaire during fall/winter 2020/21. Questions were based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, which examined frequency and duration of PA and sitting time. A total of 221 high school students provided valid data. Participants reported significantly lower moderate and vigorous PA during the lockdown while sitting time increased (p < 0.01). The frequency of walking (days/week) also decreased during COVID-19 lockdown, which also contributed to a significant decline in total walking time (p < 0.01). Further, the decline in PA was more pronounced in boys, while girls reported a greater decline in walking. These differences were due to higher PA and walking in boys and girls, respectively, prior to the lockdown. During the lockdown sex differences in PA and sitting time were limited. Taken together, these results highlight the impact of COVID-19 policies on PA in adolescents and emphasize the importance to promote an active lifestyle even in times of home confinement.
- moderate physical activity,
- vigorous physical activity,
- walking,
- sedentary behavior,
- movement restriction,
- adolescents
Citation: Klaus Greier, Clemens Drenowatz, Theresa Bischofer, Gloria Petrasch, Carla Greier, Armando Cocca, Gerhard Ruedl. Physical activity and sitting time prior to and during COVID-19 lockdown in Austrian high-school students[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2021, 8(3): 531-540. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2021043

Related Papers:

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led in many countries to the implementation of policies that mandate social distancing and movement restrictions. While these measures are warranted in order to minimize the spread of the virus they may have detrimental effects on various behaviors, including physical activity (PA). The present study examined PA and sitting time in 14 to18-year-old Austrian high school students prior to and during the second COVID-19 lockdown in Austria. Data was collected via an online questionnaire during fall/winter 2020/21. Questions were based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, which examined frequency and duration of PA and sitting time. A total of 221 high school students provided valid data. Participants reported significantly lower moderate and vigorous PA during the lockdown while sitting time increased (p < 0.01). The frequency of walking (days/week) also decreased during COVID-19 lockdown, which also contributed to a significant decline in total walking time (p < 0.01). Further, the decline in PA was more pronounced in boys, while girls reported a greater decline in walking. These differences were due to higher PA and walking in boys and girls, respectively, prior to the lockdown. During the lockdown sex differences in PA and sitting time were limited. Taken together, these results highlight the impact of COVID-19 policies on PA in adolescents and emphasize the importance to promote an active lifestyle even in times of home confinement.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare no conflicts of interest in this paper.

References

[1]	Janssen I, Leblanc AG (2010) Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness in school-aged children and youth. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 7: 40. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-7-40
[2]	Warburton D, Bredin S (2017) Health benefits of physical activity: a systematic review of current systematic reviews. Curr Opin Cardiol 32: 541-556. doi: 10.1097/HCO.0000000000000437
[3]	Cohen D, Voss C, Taylor MJ, et al. (2011) Ten-year secular changes in muscular fitness in English children. Acta Paediatr 100: e175-e177. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2011.02318.x
[4]	Tomkinson G, Lang J, Tremblay MS (2019) Temporal trends in the cardiorespiratory fitness of children and adolescents representing 19 high-income and upper middle-income countries between 1981 and 2014. Br J Sports Med 53: 478-486. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-097982
[5]	Greier K, Riechelmann H, Ruedl G, et al. (2019) Changes in motor competence over four decades in 10 to 14-year-old Austrian boys. Curr Iss Sport Sci 4: 012.
[6]	Manz K, Schlack R, Poethko-Müller C, et al. (2014) Physical activity and electronic media use in children and adolescents: results of the KiGGS study: first follow-up (KiGGS wave 1). Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz 57: 840-848. doi: 10.1007/s00103-014-1986-4
[7]	Covid-19-Maßnahmengesetz, 2020 (BGBI. II Nr.98/2020) Available from: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20011073.
[8]	World Health Organisation Key planning recommendations for mass gatherings in the context of the current COVID-19 outbreak: interim guidance (2020) .Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/10665-332235.
[9]	McCloskey B, Zumla A, Ippolito G, et al. (2020) Mass gathering events and reducing further global spread of COVID-19: a political and public health dilemma. Lancet 395: 1096-1099. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30681-4
[10]	Ammar A, Brach M, Trabelsi K, et al. (2020) Effects of COVID-19 Home Confinement on Eating Behaviour and Physical Activity: Results of the ECLB-COVID19 International Online Survey. Nutrients 12: 1583. doi: 10.3390/nu12061583
[11]	Janssen X, Fleming L, Kirk A, et al. (2020) Changes in Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep across the COVID-19 National Lockdown Period in Scotland. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17: 9362. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17249362
[12]	Sánchez-Sánchez E, Ramírez-Vargas G, Avellaneda-López Y, et al. (2020) Eating Habits and Physical Activity of the Spanish Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic Period. Nutrients 12: 2826. doi: 10.3390/nu12092826
[13]	Schmidt SC, Anedda B, Burchartz A, et al. (2020) Physical activity and screen time of children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 lockdown in Germany: a natural experiment. Sci Rep 10: 21780. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-78438-4
[14]	Kovacs VA, Starc G, Brandes M, et al. (2021) Physical activity, screen time and the COVID-19 school closures in Europe - an observational study in 10 countries. Eur J Sport Sci 29: 1-10. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2021.1897166
[15]	Ten Velde G, Lubrecht J, Arayess L, et al. (2021) Physical activity behaviour and screen time in Dutch children during the COVID-19 pandemic: Pre-, during- and post-school closures. Pediatr Obes e12779.
[16]	Gordon-Larsen P, Adair LS, Nelson M, et al. (2004) Five-year obesity incidence in the transition period between adolescence and adulthood: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Am J Clin Nutr 80: 569-575.
[17]	Leyk D, Rüther T, Wunderlich M, et al. (2008) Sport activity, prevalence of overweight and risk factors - cross-sectional study of more than 12 500 participants aged 16–25 years. Dtsch Arztebl 105: 793-800.
[18]	Herbert C, Gilg V, Sander M, et al. (2020) Preventing mental health, well-being and physical activity during the corona pandemic - recommendations from psychology and sports medicine. Dtsch Z Sportmed 71: 249-257. doi: 10.5960/dzsm.2020.458
[19]	Alonso-Martínez AM, Ramírez-Vélez R, García-Alonso Y, et al. (2021) Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Sleep and Self-Regulation in Spanish Preschoolers during the COVID-19 Lockdown. Int J Environ Res Public Health 18: 693. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020693
[20]	Greier K, Drenowatz C, Wieser J, et al. (2021) A comparative study on sports participation during and following confinement due to COVID-19 in Spanish and Austrian exercise science students. J Health Sci Educ 5: 209.
[21]	Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjöström M, et al. (2003) International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 35: 1381-1395. doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB
[22]	Gallè F, Sabella EA, Ferracuti S, et al. (2020) Sedentary Behaviors and Physical Activity of Italian Undergraduate Students during Lockdown at the Time of CoViD-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17: 6171. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17176171
[23]	Castañeda-Babarro A, Arbillaga-Etxarri A, Gutiérrez-Santamaría B, et al. (2020) Physical Activity Change during COVID-19 Confinement. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17: 6878. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17186878
[24]	Xiang M, Zhang Z, Kuwahara K (2020) Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents' lifestyle behavior larger than expected. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 63: 531-532. doi: 10.1016/j.pcad.2020.04.013
[25]	Hansen BH, Anderssen SA, Andersen LB, et al. (2018) Cross-Sectional Associations of Reallocating Time Between Sedentary and Active Behaviours on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Young People: An International Children's Accelerometry Database (ICAD) Analysis. Sports Med 48: 2401-2412. doi: 10.1007/s40279-018-0909-1
[26]	Renninger M, Hansen BH, Steene-Johannessen J, et al. (2020) Associations between accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time and the metabolic syndrome: A meta-analysis of more than 6000 children and adolescents. Pediatr Obes 15: e12578. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12578
[27]	Skrede T, Steene-Johannessen J, Anderssen SA, et al. (2019) The prospective association between objectively measured sedentary time, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and cardiometabolic risk factors in youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev 20: 55-74. doi: 10.1111/obr.12758
[28]	Pate R, Hillman C, Janz K, et al. (2019) Physical Activity and Health in Children Younger than 6 Years: A Systematic Review. Med Sci Sports Exerc 51: 1282-1291. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001940
[29]	Lozano R, Naghavi M, Foreman K, et al. (2012) Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet 380: 2095-2128. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61728-0
[30]	Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, et al. (2012) Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet 380: 2197-2223. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4
[31]	Fegert JM, Vitiello B, Plener PL, et al. (2020) Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: a narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 14: 20. doi: 10.1186/s13034-020-00329-3
[32]	Liu JJ, Bao Y, Huang X, et al. (2020) Mental health considerations for children quarantined because of COVID-19. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 4: 347-349. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30096-1
[33]	Ravens-Sieberer U, Kaman A, Otto C, et al. (2020) Mental Health and Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic-Results of the Copsy Study. Dtsch Arztebl Int 117: 828-829.
[34]	Rodríguez-Larrad A, Mañas A, Labayen I, et al. (2021) Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in Spanish University Students: Role of Gender. Int J Environ Res Public Health 18: 369. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020369
[35]	Chambonniere C, Lambert C, Fearnbach N, et al. (2021) Effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on physical activity and sedentary behaviors in French children and adolescents: New results from the ONAPS national survey. Eur J Integr Med 43: 101308. doi: 10.1016/j.eujim.2021.101308
[36]	Bucksch J, Schlicht W (2014) Sedentarism - a health-detrimental behavior. Dtsch Z Sportmed 64: 15-21.
[37]	Veerman JL, Healy GN, Cobiac LJ, et al. (2012) Television viewing time and reduced life expectancy: a life table analysis. Br J Sports Med 46: 927-930. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2011-085662
[38]	Patterson R, McNamara E, Tainio M, et al. (2018) Sedentary behaviour and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality, and incident type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose response meta-analysis. Eur J Epidemiol 33: 811-829. doi: 10.1007/s10654-018-0380-1
[39]	Hamilton M, Hamilton D, Zderic T (2004) Exercise physiology versus inactivity physiology: An essential concept for understanding lipoprotein lipase regulation. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 32: 161-166. doi: 10.1097/00003677-200410000-00007
[40]	Healy GN, Matthews CE, Dunstan DW, et al. (2011) Sedentary time and cardio-metabolic biomarkers in US adults: NHANES 2003–06. Eur Heart J 32: 590-597. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq451
[41]	Rzewnicki R, Auweele YV, De Boureaudhuij I (2002) Addressing overreporting on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) telephone survey with a population sample. Public Health Nutr 6: 299-305. doi: 10.1079/PHN2002427
[42]	Hartley S, Garland S, Young E, et al. (2015) A comparison of self-reported and objective physical activity measures in young Australian women. JMIR Public Health Surveill 1: e14. doi: 10.2196/publichealth.4259
[43]	Kumar B, Robinson R, Till S (2015) Physical activity and health in adolescence. Clin Med (Lond) 15: 267-272. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.15-3-267
[44]	Whooten R, Kerem L, Stanley T (2019) Physical activity in adolescents and children and relationship to metabolic health. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes 26: 25-31. doi: 10.1097/MED.0000000000000455
[45]	Wu XY, Han LH, Zhang JH, et al. (2017) The influence of physical activity, sedentary behavior on health-related quality of life among the general population of children and adolescents: A systematic review. PLoS One 12: e0187668. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187668
[46]	Laddu DR, Lavie CJ, Phillips SA, et al. (2021) Physical activity for immunity protection: Inoculating populations with healthy living medicine in preparation for the next pandemic. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 64: 102-104. doi: 10.1016/j.pcad.2020.04.006
[47]	Gordon-Larsen P, Nelson MC, Popkin BM (2004) Longitudinal physical activity and sedentary behavior trends: adolescence to adulthood. Am J Prev Med 27: 277-283. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2004.07.006
[48]	World Health Organisation Stay phsically active during self-quarantine Available from: https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/publications-and-technical-guidance/noncommunicable-diseases/stay-physically-active-during-self-quarantine.

Reader Comments

Your name:*

Email:*
© 2021 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)