Study: Children, teens got 20% less daily exercise during pandemic

Children and teenagers spent 20% less time doing daily physical activity during the pandemic, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

Based on pooled estimates from 22 international studies of 14,000 children and adolescents, the study attributes the decline to social distancing rules that “could have negatively affected child and adolescent physical activity levels.”

Seven public health researchers conducted the study, which noted that the closure of schools and other major outlets for youth activity — including sports clubs, swimming pools, gyms and community centers — drove young people to spend more time in isolation.

“Global school closures affecting 1.5 billion youth worldwide led to an increased reliance on digital media devices for learning activities, and early signs suggest that sedentary screen time doubled compared with prepandemic estimates,” the researchers write.

Experts said the study shows American youths have developed physical, social and educational problems that will be harder to reverse if parents don’t get them outdoors this summer.

“Children’s physical activity relates to their attention, emotions, and ability to learn,” said Sara Rimm-Kaufman, a professor of education at the University of Virginia. “These domains of development are all interconnected and it’s important to create opportunities to get children and youth moving once again.”

According to Jaclyn Halpern, a psychologist at Washington Behavioral Medicine Associates in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the mental habits of isolation developed in lockdown make young people “less likely to initiate exercise” than before the pandemic.

“The time children and teens spent doing virtual school and related homework on their electronic devices kept them sitting still,” Ms. Halpern said. “Along with this, many relied on video games and social media as their primary form of social connection, which also kept them sedentary.”

Julie Gunlock, director of the Center for Progress and Innovation at the Independent Women’s Forum, said she hopes the study will discourage future lockdowns.

“It’s nice that the medical community is finally admitting that the COVID shutdowns harmed kids,” Ms. Gunlock said.