Impact of COVID-19 on Children's Physical Activity Patterns

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated unprecedented disruptions to children’s daily routines through school closures, cancellation of organised sports and restrictions on outdoor play. Across diverse settings, these measures led to notable declines in structured physical activity, concurrent increases in sedentary and screen-based behaviours, and alterations to sleep patterns. Impacts varied by age, pre-existing health status and socioeconomic context, with younger schoolchildren and those with obesity particularly affected. Objective assessments and large-scale surveys reveal reductions in step counts, endurance and coordination alongside delayed sleep onset and increased recreational screen time. As restrictions ease, there is growing emphasis on restoring habitual movement through active travel, family-based interventions and reintegration of physical education. The global significance of these findings underscores the need for adaptive public health strategies and policy measures to safeguard children’s physical and mental wellbeing during both recovery and future public health emergencies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A natural experiment in Germany compared physical activity and recreational screen time of 1 711 children and adolescents aged 4–17 before and during the first national lockdown. While organised sports participation declined sharply, habitual activities such as informal play and active chores increased sufficiently to yield an overall rise in total physical activity. These context-driven shifts were consistent across age groups and sexes, illustrating the adaptability of children’s movement patterns when formal opportunities are restricted and highlighting the importance of integrating unstructured activity into future interventions.

Impact of COVID-19 on Children's Physical Activity Patterns publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in impact of covid-19 on children's physical activity patterns across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA): Exercise intensity requiring a substantial increase in heart rate and energy expenditure, typically at least three times resting levels.

Sedentary behaviour: Waking activities characterised by low energy expenditure (≤1.5 METs) while sitting or lying down.

Cardiorespiratory endurance: The ability of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems to supply oxygen during sustained physical activity.

Recreational screen time: Time spent using electronic screens (television, computers, tablets) for leisure rather than educational purposes.

References

1. Physical activity and sleep changes among children during the COVID-19 pandemic. npj Digital Medicine (2024).
2. Covid Pandemic Effects on the Physical Fitness of Primary School Children: Results of the German EMOTIKON Project. Sports Medicine - Open (2023).
3. How the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures reduce physical activity among children and adolescents in the WHO European Region: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2023).
4. Physical activity and screen time of children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 lockdown in Germany: a natural experiment. Scientific Reports (2020).