CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Hardly any kids exercised during pandemic — that’s bad for mental health, study finds

Charlotte Observer - 1/5/2022

Early in the pandemic, quarantine kept us inside as coronavirus prompted closures of all kinds – schools, gyms, stores and restaurants.

Before the virus hit in 2020, the majority of kids weren’t exercising enough – and hardly any got enough during the early pandemic, a new study has found.

That lack of physical activity is bad for their mental health, and it’s linked to higher stress and COVID-related worries, according to the study published in Preventive Medicine Reports.

In the U.S., only 8.9% of children ages 10-14 met Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans during the pandemic in May 2020, the time of early pandemic lockdowns and the most restrictions, researchers found. This is slightly over a 7% drop compared to those exercising before COVID-19 when 16.1% of children met the guidelines between 2016 and 2018.

The guidelines recommend children ages 6-17 fit in at least 60 minutes of “moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA)” a day, researchers note. This means a minimum seven hours a week is preferred.

“Physical activity can support young people’s physical and mental health,” Jason Nagata, the study’s lead author and the assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a Jan. 3 news release.

“We found that teens who were more active during the pandemic reported stronger emotional wellbeing and felt more socially connected to others.”

For those ages 10-14 surveyed, they exercised two hours per week on average, and those who had less exercise were more likely to experience poorer mental health.

However, the study also points out “important racial and socioeconomic disparities,” the release said, noting that the average exercise estimates were lower among children of color.

An average of 90 minutes of exercise per week was reported by Black, Latino and Native American youth, according to the release.

This “may reflect unequal access to safe, outdoor recreational spaces,” said Kyle T. Ganson, the study’s co-author and the assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

The study suggests this may be connected to “the impact of systemic discrimination on neighborhood designs.”

In regards to American Indian/Native American kids, just 4.9% of them met the MVPA guidelines as “there is a lack of adequate funding for healthcare and behavioral health services for this community,” the study notes.

Out of all children who reported worse mental health and “higher perceived stress” in the study, they were the least likely to get enough exercise.

Children who had higher levels of physical activity were more likely to have “more social support and coping behaviors” during the spread of COVID-19, according to the study.

A sensitivity analysis in the research found “there was no evidence that gender or race modified the effect of mental health or resiliency factors” on exercise.

The drop in kids exercising is connected to COVID-19 safety restrictions that disrupted daily activities, researchers said.

“Such measures, including stay-at-home orders, school and business closures, limited social activities and organized sport participation, and travel restrictions, may impede physical activity among this age group,” according to the study.

“Sudden exercise withdrawal can have a negative impact on mental health,” it added.

Other reasons for less exercise during the pandemic included less interaction with peers and adult supervision as well as partaking in virtual or hybrid school instruction, the study said.

“The pandemic led to the cancellation of in-person physical education classes and organized sports, gym and recreational facility closures, and rises in screen use, which all contributed to lower physical activity for teens,” Nagata said.

Nagata urged families to “encourage their children to move more and sit less.”

“Despite disruptions from the pandemic, consider doing activities as a family, going outdoors, or participating in virtual exercise classes.”

COVID test positivity rates are breaking records. How your state ranks as of Jan. 4

©2022 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.