University of Split, Split, Croatia (Faculty of Kinesiology).
University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Faculty of Science and Education).
Med Pr. 2021 Dec 22;72(6):633-643. doi: 10.13075/mp.5893.01180. Epub 2021 Nov 26.
Insufficient physical activity levels (PAL) during adolescence is a major public health concern, which is even more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic due to restricting movement opportunities. This study aimed to identify PAL changes and examine the age-specific determinants of PAL in younger and older adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown.
This study included 859 high-school students from Bosnia and Herzegovina stratified into 2 age groups: younger (N = 420, 14-16 years of age), and older adolescents (N = 439, 16-18 years of age). Participants were tested over 2 testing waves: before the COVID-19 lockdown (January 2020) and during the COVID-19 lockdown (April 2020). Variables included PAL assessed by the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents, sports factors, and parental factors.
The PAL significantly declined as a result of lockdown measures in the total sample (from 2.76±0.79 to 2.50±0.82). Larger absolute and relative decline of PAL was evidenced in younger adolescents. Sport participation positively influenced PAL before lockdown, with no significant influence during the lockdown. Older adolescents whose mothers were better educated were less likely to be in high risk group with regard to a large decline of PAL as a result of COVID lockdown (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.21-0.84).
Results of the study suggest that parental education influences health-related behaviors and that parental education is a protective factor against a decrease in PAL during the COVID-19 pandemic. Main educational agents (i.e., school and parents) should pay more attention to provide children and adolescents adequate information and develop their health literacy, which will hopefully positively impact children's PAL even in challenging situations similar to COVID-19 lockdown. Med Pr. 2021;72(6):633-43.
青少年时期体力活动水平（PAL）不足是一个主要的公共卫生问题，由于限制了活动机会，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，这一问题更加明显。本研究旨在确定 PAL 的变化，并研究 COVID-19 封锁期间青少年和青少年时期特定年龄的 PAL 的决定因素。
本研究包括来自波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那的 859 名高中生，分为 2 个年龄组：青少年（N = 420，14-16 岁）和青少年（N = 439，16-18 岁）。参与者在 2 个测试波中进行了测试：在 COVID-19 封锁之前（2020 年 1 月）和在 COVID-19 封锁期间（2020 年 4 月）。变量包括青少年体力活动问卷评估的 PAL、运动因素和父母因素。
由于封锁措施，总样本的 PAL 显著下降（从 2.76±0.79 降至 2.50±0.82）。青少年的 PAL 绝对值和相对下降更大。在封锁前，运动参与对 PAL 有积极影响，而在封锁期间则没有。母亲受教育程度较高的青少年，由于 COVID 封锁导致 PAL 大幅下降而处于高风险组的可能性较小（OR = 0.50，95%CI：0.21-0.84）。
研究结果表明，父母教育会影响健康相关行为，而父母教育是 COVID-19 大流行期间 PAL 下降的保护因素。主要教育者（即学校和家长）应更加关注为儿童和青少年提供足够的信息并培养他们的健康素养，这有望在类似 COVID-19 封锁的挑战性情况下积极影响儿童的 PAL。医学进展。2021；72（6）：633-43。
