Peer-reviewed article
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Interrelation of Physical Activity, Screen Time and Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents in Germany: Results of the Motorik-Modul Study
Kathrin Wunsch, Carina Nigg, Claudia Niessner, Steffen Schmidt, Doris Oriwol et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how physical activity, screen time, and health-related quality of life changed in German children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from 1,711 children aged 4 to 17 years showed that levels of all three factors during the pandemic were predicted by their pre-pandemic levels. Screen time before COVID-19 was negatively associated with physical activity during the pandemic, particularly affecting younger children and girls. The findings suggest that reducing screen time may be more effective than promoting physical activity for maintaining children's health during disruptions.
Key points
- All variables during COVID-19 (physical activity, screen time, health-related quality of life) were predicted by their respective pre-pandemic levels
- High screen time before COVID-19 was negatively associated with physical activity during COVID-19 across all age and gender groups
- Pre-pandemic health-related quality of life positively predicted pandemic physical activity in children under 10 and in girls, but not in adolescents or boys
- 76.8% of participants were at healthy weight
- Health policy should focus on reducing screen time rather than promoting physical activity to maintain activity levels during disruptions
Limitations
The study relied on self-reported measures of physical activity and screen time, which may be subject to recall or social desirability bias. The cross-sectional associations detected cannot establish causation, and findings are specific to Germany during the COVID-19 context, which may limit generalisability to other populations and time periods.
Abstract
Reduced physical activity (PA) and prolonged screen time (ST) negatively influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a protective factor against illness and mortality. Studies addressing the relationship between PA, ST, and mental health in youth are scarce, especially in times with high mental health burdens like the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this examination was to investigate whether PA, ST, and HRQoL before COVID-19 predict PA, ST, and HRQoL during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants from the Motorik-Modul Study (MoMo; N = 1711; Mage = 10.36 (SD = 4.04) years, female = 49.8%; healthy weight = 76.8%) self-reported their PA and ST as well as HRQoL both before and during COVID-19. Relationships of all variables, from before to during COVID-19, were investigated through a path prediction model. Results showed all variables during COVID-19 were predicted by the respective levels before COVID-19, independent of gender and age. Cross-lags revealed a negative influence of before COVID-19 ST on during COVID-19 PA. HRQoL before COVID-19 was positively associated with during COVID-19 PA in children younger than 10 years and females, but not in adolescents and boys. As age- and gender-independent negative influence of before COVID-19 ST on during COVID-19 PA has been detected, health policy may be advised to focus on a general reduction in ST instead of PA enhancement to ensure high PA levels.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- No intervention was tested; this is an observational study examining natural changes in physical activity, screen time, and health-related quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Population
- 1,711 German children and adolescents aged 4-17 years (mean age 10.36 years, 49.8% female, 76.8% healthy weight)
Key finding
Screen time before COVID-19 negatively predicted physical activity during COVID-19 across all participants
Wunsch et al. · Children · 2 Feb 2021