Impact Of COVID-19 On Children'S Physical Activity: A Scoping Review.

PURPOSE: This scoping review aimed to identify the available evidence related to the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on children's physical activity (PA) during the global pandemic. METHODS: A search in five databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science) was conducted on December 3, 2020. The keywords used were "physical activity", "Children" and "COVID-19" and the selection criteria were (1) English articles focusing on children under the age of 18, (2) papers evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on children's PA during confinement. RESULTS: A total of 571 articles were found through the five databases and 21 articles were included after duplicate removal and full-text screening. Most of the included studies collected data through online interviews or self-report questionnaires, with 4 studies collected baseline information before the COVID-19 outbreak. Studies showed that Children had lower PA levels, less outside time, higher sedentary behaviors, and more sleep during the outbreak. A study in Brazil found that the decrease in children's PA during confinement was attenuated by age for children under 13, while a study in Australia revealed that children's PA levels had decreased most amongst adolescents aged 12 years or older. A study in Portugal based on data from 2,159 children showed that there was no gender difference in the decrease of PA levels. Parental encouragement and support, parental engagement in PA, parent's education level, having other children in the household, availability of external space at home, and family dog ownership were found to be positively associated with children's PA level. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence identified a decrease in PA levels due to social distancing policies and highlighted the importance of parental/familial support in promoting children's physical activity during crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]