Children’s physical activity levels ‘significantly lower’ in wake of pandemic

Children’s physical activity levels plummeted in the UK by the time lockdown restrictions were lifted and have failed to recover.

The stark findings of a study led by Bristol University reveal that by the end of last year, just 36 per cent of young people were meeting the national recommended guidelines for exercise.

There was also a marked increase in sedentary time, with children spending 25 minutes longer inactive per day than previously during the week.

The study showed that ten to 11-year-olds did an average of 56 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity during weekdays from last April to December, less than the recommended hour.

This is an average of eight minutes less than children of a similar age were doing before the pandemic, representing a drop of 13 per cent. Meanwhile, there was no change noted in their parents’ exercise levels.

Children were also found to be less active at the weekend, taking part in 46 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day, marking a similar decrease compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Commenting on the findings, senior author Russ Jago, professor of physical activity and public health, said: “It was surprising the extent children’s physical activity levels had fallen after the pandemic, indicating that changes in physical activity patterns did not revert to previous levels once freedoms had been restored.

“These findings highlight a greater need to work with children, families, schools, and communities to maximise the opportunities for children to be physically active, as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The National Institute for Health and Care Research funded the study that recruited 393 children and their parents, from 23 schools in the Bristol area. Each wore an accelerometer to measure their intensity of physical activity and answered a questionnaire.

This information was compared with data from 1,296 children and their parents who were recruited from 50 schools in the same area before the pandemic.

The UK’s chief medical officers recommend all children and young people should take part in an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day – exercise that makes them “slightly hot, slightly sweaty and out of breath”. It is also advised children should limit the amount of time they spend being sedentary.

The study’s first author Dr Ruth Salway, a statistician at the university’s School for Policy Studies, said: “The key strength of this study was we used data collected before and after the pandemic, using the same methods and in the same schools.

“The data clearly demonstrates children’s physical activity had deteriorated once the restrictions were lifted. This emphasises the importance of understanding how such habits change over time, so appropriate support and interventions can be introduced as normality resumes.”

Main photo: Ken Walton/ Flickr

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