AUTHOR=Haile Sarah R. , Gunz Samuel , Peralta Gabriela P. , Ulytė Agnė , Raineri Alessia , Rueegg Sonja , Yasenok Viktoriia , Radtke Thomas , Puhan Milo A. , Kriemler Susi 

TITLE=Health-Related Quality of Life and Adherence to Physical Activity and Screen Time Recommendations in Schoolchildren: Longitudinal Cohort Ciao Corona

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 68 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2023.1606033

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2023.1606033

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Objectives: We investigated changes in adherence to physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) recommendations of children and adolescents throughout the pandemic, and their association with health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Methods: 1769 primary (PS, grades 1-6) and secondary (SS, 7-9) school children from Ciao Corona, a school-based cohort study in Zurich, Switzerland, with 5 questionnaires 2020-2022. HRQOL was assessed using the KINDL questionnaire. PA (>60 min/day moderate-to-vigorous PA) and ST (<2 hours/day ST) recommendations followed WHO guidelines.

Results: Adherence to PA recommendations dropped in 2020 (83% to 59% PS, 77% to 52% SS), but returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2022 (79%, 66%). Fewer children met ST recommendations in 2020 (74% PS, 29% SS) and 2021 (82%, 37%) than pre-pandemic (95%, 68%). HRQOL decreased 3 points between 2020 and 2022, and was 9.7 points higher (95% CI 3.0-16.3) in March 2021 in children who met both versus no recommendations.

Conclusions: Adherence to WHO guidelines on PA and ST during the pandemic had a consistent association with HRQOL despite longitudinal changes in behavior.