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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

UNICEF Innocenti's curated library of COVID-19 + Children research

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Evidence Synthesis and other Reviews

A community perspective of COVID-19 and obesity in children: causes and consequences

AUTHOR(S)
Maido Tsenoli; Jane Elizabeth Moverley Smith; Moien AB Khan

Published: March 2021 Journal: Obesity Medicine

The pandemic of childhood obesity that has been increasing over the last decade has collided with the current pandemic of COVID-19. Enforced behavioural changes have resulted in a myriad of problems for children particularly in weight management. Restricted activity is the most obvious but many other aspects of life have exacerbated biological, psychosocial, and behavioral factors identified as risks for childhood obesity. Significant effort is required to turn around the prevailing tide of weight gain necessitating changes in personal and family behavior and diet, as well as high-level governmental and educational policy.

Evidence Synthesis and other Reviews

Obesity in children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Androniki Stavridou; Evangelia Kapsali; Eleni Panagouli (et al.)

Published: February 2021 Journal: Children

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to special circumstances and changes to everyday life due to the worldwide measures that were imposed such as lockdowns. This review aims to evaluate obesity in children, adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A literature search was conducted to evaluate pertinent studies up to 10 November 2020. A total of 15 articles were eligible; 9 identified 17,028,111 children, adolescents and young adults from 5–25 years old, 5 pertained to studies with an age admixture (n = 20,521) and one study included parents with children 5–18 years old (n = 584). During the COVID-19 era, children, adolescents and young adults gained weight. Changes in dietary behaviors, increased food intake and unhealthy food choices including potatoes, meat and sugary drinks were noted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Food insecurity associated with financial reasons represents another concern.

Cite this research | No. of pages: 16 | Language: English | Topics: Health, Nutrition | Tags: adolescent psychology, child nutrition, COVID-19 response, lockdown, obesity, physical activity

Journal article

Widening the gap? Unintended consequences of health promotion measures for young people during COVID-19 lockdown

AUTHOR(S)
Stephanie A. Alexander; Martine Shareck

Published: February 2021 Journal: Health Promotion International

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, global measures preventing the spread of the new coronavirus required most of the population to lockdown at home. This sudden halt to collective life meant that non-essential services were closed and many health promoting activities (i.e. physical activity, school) were stopped in their tracks. To curb the negative health impacts of lockdown measures, activities adapting to this new reality were urgently developed. One form of activity promoted indoor physical activity to prevent the adverse physical and psychological effects of the lockdown. Another form of activity included the rapid development of online learning tools to keep children and youth engaged academically while not attending school. While these health promoting efforts were meant to benefit the general population, this paper argues that these interventions may have unintended consequences and inadvertently increase health inequalities affecting marginalized youth in particular, as they may not reap the same benefits, both social and physical, from the interventions promoting athome physical activities or distance learning measures. This study elaborates on several interventions and their possible unintended consequences for marginalized youth and suggests several strategies that may mitigate their impact.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 13 | Language: English | Topics: Education, Health, Social Protection, Well-being and Equity | Tags: child well-being, COVID-19 response, economic and social conditions, lockdown, physical activity, remote learning, school attendance, social inequality

Journal article

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity in US children

AUTHOR(S)
Kirsten Tulchin-Francis; Wilshaw Stevens; Xiangli Gu (et al.)

Published: February 2021 Journal: Journal of Sport and Health Science

Daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA) is vital to the physical, mental, and social well-being of children. Early restrictions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic included the closure of schools and PA amenities across the US. This study aimed to examine the impact of the pandemic on the PA and play behavior of US children and to provide evidence-based recommendations to improve their PA. A cross-sectional, online, parent-reported survey was conducted of children aged 3-18 years between April and June 2020 to assess light and moderate-to-vigorous PA using a modified Godin Leisure-Time Questionnaire. Additional items included family/child socioeconomic demographics, child adaptability to the pandemic, and community access.

Journal article

Physical activity, screen time and the COVID-19 school closures in Europe – an observational study in 10 countries

AUTHOR(S)
Viktoria A. Kovacs; Gregor Starc; Mirko Brandes (et al.)

Published: February 2021 Journal: European Journal of Sport Science

To date, few data on how the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions affected children’s physical activity in Europe have been published. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of physical activity and screen time from a large sample of European children during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform strategies and provide adequate mitigation measures. An online survey was conducted using convenience sampling from 15 May to 22 June, 2020.

Journal article

Physical activity behaviour and screen time in Dutch children during the COVID‐19 pandemic: pre‐, during‐ and post‐school closures

AUTHOR(S)
Gabrielle ten Velde; Judith Lubrecht; Lisanne Arayess (et al.)

Published: February 2021 Journal: Pediatric Obesity

Measures during the COVID‐19 pandemic, including the closure of schools and sports facilities, may have lasting impact on the physical activity (PA) of children that persists for a long time.This study aims to investigate the effect of COVID‐19 measures on screen time and PA in Dutch children pre‐, during‐ and post‐school closures.

Journal article

Effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on physical activity and sedentary behaviors in French children and adolescents: new results from the ONAPS national survey

AUTHOR(S)
C. Chambonniere; C. Lambert; N. Fearnbach (et al.)

Published: February 2021 Journal: European Journal of Integrative Medicine

In March 14, 2020 a national lockdown was imposed in France for 55 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and all schools were closed. This study aimed to investigate the effects of home confinement as a result of lockdown on the activity (physical activity and sedentary behaviors), and their determinants, on French children (6-10 years) and adolescents (11-17 years). The National Observatory for Physical Activity and Sedentary behaviors launched an online survey from April 1st, to May 6th, 2020 using popular social networks and websites. It compared the level of physical activity (PA), sitting and screen time before and during the lockdown and identified the impact of the initial PA (active vs. inactive), sedentary (high vs. low) profiles of the participants and their housing conditions.

Journal article

The impact of COVID-19 and homeschooling on students' engagement with physical activity

AUTHOR(S)
Astrid Roe; Marte Blikstad-Balas; Cecilie Pedersen Dalland

Published: January 2021 Journal: Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

The COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented global shutdown that closed schools for months. In many nations, schools were closed to students, and teachers directed educational activities remotely via digital devices or homeschooling resources. This article explores how these months of homeschooling have affected the physical activity of Norwegian students in Grades 1–10. All Norwegian students are supposed to have at least 60 min of physical activity every day in school. We draw on data from two surveys, one with parents (N = 4,624) and the other with teachers (N = 726), to provide an indication of the daily physical activity students engaged in during the period of homeschooling.

Journal 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

AUTHOR(S)
Kathrin Wunsch; Carina Nigg; Claudia Niessner

Published: January 2021 Journal: Children

Reduced physical activity (PA) and prolonged screen time (ST) negatively influence healthrelated 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

Journal article

The effects of COVID-19 restrictions on physical activity and mental health of children and young adults with physical and/or intellectual disabilities

AUTHOR(S)
Nicola Theis; Natalie Campbell; Julie De Leeuw (et al.)

Published: January 2021 Journal: Disability and Health Journal

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented restrictions, significantly affecting the most vulnerable groups in society, such as those with a disability. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on physical activity and mental health of children and young adults with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.

Research Report

Nutrition action in schools: a review of evidence related to the nutrition-friendly schools initiative

Institution: World Health Organisation
Published: January 2021

Good nutrition during childhood and adolescence is key to ensuring optimal growth, health and well-being. Healthy dietary practices in early life have an immediate impact on healthy growth and help prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) later in life and across generations. Good nutrition in childhood is also good for school performance and educational outcomes, impacting on nations’ economic and social development. Since children spend so much time in school, the school environment is an important setting for children to acquire habits, skills and knowledge related to healthy diets and physical activity. In 2016-17, the vast majority of countries (89%) reported implementation of school health and nutrition programmes although inclusion of a comprehensive set of interventions was rare and implementation of such programmes appears to have weakened since the start of the decade.

Journal article

Exposome changes in primary school children following the wide population non-pharmacological interventions implemented due to COVID-19 in Cyprus: a national survey

AUTHOR(S)
Corina Konstantinou; Xanthi D. Andrianou; Andria Constantinou (et al.)

Published: January 2021 Journal: EClinicalMedicine

Non-pharmacological interventions (NPI), including lockdowns, have been used to address the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe changes in the environment and lifestyle of school children in Cyprus before the lockdown and during school re-opening, and assess compliance to NPI, using the exposome concept.

Journal article

The deconditioning effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on unaffected healthy children

AUTHOR(S)
Jefrey D. Dayton; Kelley Ford; Sheila J. Carroll (et al.)

Published: January 2021 Journal: Pediatric Cardiology

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating direct consequences on the health of affected patients. It has also had a significant impact on the ability of unaffected children to be physically active. This study evaluated the effect of deconditioning from social distancing and school shutdowns implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on the cardiovascular fitness of healthy unaffected children.

Journal article

School closure during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: impact on children’s sleep

AUTHOR(S)
Michael Teik Chung Lim; Mahesh Babu Ramamurthy; Ramkumar Aishworiya (et al.)

Published: January 2021 Journal: Sleep Medicine

To evaluate the sleep habits of school-going children before and during school closure in the national lockdown period (called ‘Circuit Breaker’ or CB in Singapore) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional, anonymous, online, population-based survey questionnaire was administered to parents aged 21 years and above with children aged between 3 and 16 years attending pre-school, primary or secondary school (equivalent to kindergarten, middle and-high school) and residing in Singapore. Sleep duration in relation to various daily activities including academic activities, physical exercise, and screen time was evaluated pre-CB and during CB.

Journal article

Exercise routine change is associated with prenatal depression scores during the COVID-19 pandemic among pregnant women across the United States

AUTHOR(S)
Theresa E. Gildner; Elise J. Laugier; Zaneta M. Thayer

Published: December 2020 Journal: Plos One

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected physical and mental health worldwide. Pregnant women already exhibit an elevated risk for depression compared to the general public, a pattern expected to be exacerbated by the pandemic. Certain lifestyle factors, including moderate exercise, may help support mental health during pregnancy, but it is unclear how the pandemic may impact these associations across different locations. This study tested whether: (i) reported exercise routine alterations during the pandemic are associated with depression scores; and, (ii) the likelihood of reporting pandemic-related exercise changes varies between women living in metro areas and those in non-metro areas.

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UNICEF Innocenti's Children and COVID-19 Library is a database collecting research from around the world on COVID-19 and its impacts on children and adolescents.

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The first digest covers children and youth mental health under COVID-19.

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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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