Canadian children’s and youth’s adherence to the 24-h movement guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic: A decision tree analysis

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to use decision tree modeling to generate profiles of children and youth who were more and less likely to meet the Canadian 24-h movement guidelines during the coronavirus disease-2019(COVID-19)outbreak.Methods:Data for this study were from a nationally representative sample of 1472 Canadian parents(Meanage=45.12,SD=7.55)of children(511 years old)or youth(1217 years old).Data were collected in April 2020 via an online survey.Survey items assessed demographic,behavioral,social,micro-environmental,and macro-environmental characteristics.Four decision trees of adherence and non-adherence to all movement recommendations combined and each individual movement recommendation(physical activity(PA),screen time,and sleep)were generated.Results:Results revealed specific combinations of adherence and non-adherence characteristics.Characteristics associated with adherence to the recommendation(s)included high parental perceived capability to restrict screen time,annual household income ofCAD 100,000,increases in children’s and youth’s outdoor PA/sport since the COVID-19 outbreak began,being a boy,having parents younger than 43 years old,and small increases in children’s and youth’s sleep duration since the COVID-19 outbreak began.Characteristics associated with non-adherence to the recommendation(s)included low parental perceived capability to restrict screen time,youth aged 1217 years,decreases in children’s and youth’s outdoor PA/sport since the COVID-19 outbreak began,primary residences located in all provinces except Quebec,low parental perceived capability to support children’s and youth’s sleep and PA,and annual household income ofCAD 99,999.Conclusion:Our results show that specific characteristics interact to contribute to(non)adherence to the movement behavior recommendations.Results highlight the importance of targeting parents’perceived capability for the promotion of children’s and youth’s movement behaviors during challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic,paying particular attention to enhancing parental perceived capability to restrict screen time.

Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the movement behaviors of children and youth:A scoping review of evidence after the first year

Purpose:The objective of this scoping review was to summarize systematically the available literature investigating the relationships between the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic and movement behaviors(physical activity,sedentary behavior,and sleep)of school-aged children(aged 511 years)and youth(aged 1217 years)in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods:Searches for published literature were conducted across 6 databases on 2 separate search dates(November 25,2020,and January 27,2021).Results were screened and extracted by 2 reviewers(DCP and KR)independently,using Covidence.Basic numeric analysis and content analysis were undertaken to present thematically the findings of included studies according to the associated impact on each movement behavior.Results:A total of 1486 records were extracted from database searches;of those,150 met inclusion criteria and were included for analysis.Of 150 articles,110 were empirical studies examining physical activity(n=77),sedentary behavior/screen time(n=58),and sleep(n=55).Results consistently reported declines in physical-activity time,increases in screen time and total sedentary behavior,shifts to later bed and wake times,and increases in sleep duration.The reported impacts on movement behaviors were greater for youth than for children.Conclusion:The COVID-19 pandemic is related to changes in the quantity and nature of physical activity,sedentary behavior,and sleep among children and youth.There is an urgent need for policy makers,practitioners,and researchers to develop solutions for attenuating adverse changes in physical activity and screen time among children and youth.