. 2021 May 11;19(3):195–203. doi: 10.1016/j.jesf.2021.04.002

Table A.

Summary of the characteristics and main findings of each study

Author, year, country	Survey period	Sample size, age^a	Data collection		Main findings
Author, year, country	Survey period	Sample size, age^a	PA measurement	Comparison	Main findings
Aguilar-Farias (2020),²⁵ Chile	Mar–Apr 2020	age 1–5, n = 3157	PAT (min/day), (online)	Recall	PAT significantly decreased (3.6–2.8 h/day); ST and SD increased. Older preschoolers had greater reductions in PA and SD but more increases in ST than toddlers (age 1). Children with space to play at home and living in rural areas had lower reductions in PA. Children whose caregivers had higher education levels and living in apartments had greater reductions in PA.
Delisle Nyström (2020),¹⁹ Sweden	Mar–May 2019 (BL), May–Jun 2020 (FU)	preschool (age 4.0 ± 0.5), n = 82	Tri-axial accelerometer (ActiGraph wGT3x-BT) (BL survey), PAT (min/day), (online)	BL-FU	PAT (+53 min/day), time spent outside on weekdays (+124 min/day) and weekends (+68 min/day), and ST (+30 min/day) significantly increased during the pandemic. Children meeting WHO PA, ST, and SD guidelines were 90.3%, 37.8%, and 62.5%, respectively.
Dunton (2020),²⁶ USA	Apr–May 2020	age 5–13, n = 211	PAT (min/day), Perceived changes in frequency of PA (5-point), (online)	Perceived changes	Parents perceived children's PA had decreased and SB had increased. Older children (age 9–13) perceived greater reductions in PA and increases in SB. PA at home, in the garage, or on neighborhood streets increased during the pandemic. About a third of children used remote/streaming activity classes and lessons.
Elnaggar (2020),³³ Saudi Arabia	N/A (before and during social distancing restrictions)	age 14–18, n = 63	BL fitness test, PAQ-A (online)	BL-FU	PAL among the total sample and boys reduced significantly during the pandemic (3.05–2.77, PAQ-A). PAL for boys was significantly higher than girls at BL; no gender difference at FU. PAL during the pandemic was determined by BL fitness for girls.
Francisco (2020),¹⁴ Italy, Spain, and Portugal	Mar–Apr 2020	age 3–18, n = 1480	PAT (min/day, 6-point), (online)	Recall	PAT significantly declined; psychological and behavioral symptoms, ST, and SD increased. Before quarantine, most children practiced 30–60 min/day of PA (33.1%); during quarantine, most children practiced <30min/day of PA (53.0%).
Gilic (2020),¹⁵ Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Jan 2020 (BL), Apr 2020 (FU)	age 15–18, n = 688	PAQ-A (online)	BL-FU	A significant decline in PAL was recorded between BL and FU (2.98–2.31, PAQ-A). Approximately 50% of adolescents had sufficient PA (<2.73) at BL; at FU, 24% had sufficient PA. Paternal education positively associated with PAL before and during the pandemic; conflicts with parents/family had negative effect.
Jia (2020),³¹ China	Apr–May 2020	age 19.8 ± 2.3, n = 10082	IPAQ-long form (online)	Recall	PAL decreased significantly during lockdown; SB, SD, and ST increased. BMI significantly increased (from 21.8 to 22.1) after lockdown.
López-Bueno (2020),¹⁶ Spain	Mar–May 2020	age 3–16, n = 860	PAT (min/week) (online)	Recall	Children's PAT decreased significantly (−102.4 min/week), and ST increased (+2.9 h/day) during confinement.
McCormack (2020),²⁷ Canada	Apr–May 2020	age 5–17, n = 345	Perceived changes in frequency of PA (5-point) PA, Days of ≥60min MVPA/week, (online)	Perceived changes	Children achieved ≥60 min of MVPA on 3.48 ± 2.41 days/week (18.3% with no MVPA days). PA at home increased (48.8%) or remained unchanged (32.9%) during the pandemic, while PA outdoors either increased (38.7%) or decreased (39%). Higher anxiety parents reported more decreases in their child's PA and increases in ST.
Medrano (2020),¹⁷ Spain	Sep–Dec 2019 (BL), Mar–Apr 2020 (FU)	age 8–16, n = 291	PAL, PAT (min/day) (YAP), (online)	BL-FU	Total PA decreased significantly (−91 min/day), whereas ST and SD increased. PA decreases were higher in children with mothers of non-Spanish origin or non-university studies than their counterparts. Children with outside space at home or big spaces (garage, attic, or gym) had fewer decreases in PA.
Mitra (2020),²⁸ Canada	Apr 2020	age 5–17, n = 1472	Perceived changes in frequency of PA (5-point), (online)	Perceived changes	Majority reported a decrease in outdoor activities (64%) and increases in indoor play (53%) and ST (79%). Youth (age 12–17) experienced a larger decline in PA than children (age 5–11). Living in a house (not an apartment), a low dwelling density, and further from major roads, and higher income and multi-child households were associated with increases in outdoor activities.
Moore (2020),³⁰ Canada	Apr 2020	age 5–17, n = 1472	Perceived changes in frequency of PA (5-point), Days of ≥60 m MVPA/week (online)	Perceived changes	Significant declines in PA and outside time and increases in SB, ST, and SD during the pandemic were found. Younger parents were associated with less decline in child PA. Youths (age 12–17) experienced greater declines in PA than children (age 5–11). Parental encouragement and support, engagement in PA, and dog ownership were positively associated with PAL.
Munasinghe (2020),³⁴ Australia	Nov 2019 (BL), Apr 2020 (FU)	age 13–19, n = 582	Smartphone sensors (Ethica app), PACE+ (days of ≥60 min PA/week), (online)	BL–FU (sequential)	Significant decrease in days with ≥60 min PA/day (OR = .53, CI = .34–.83), and steps/day, sensor-based activity time were estimated. Physical distancing was associated with lower levels of happiness, increases in ST and social media and internet use, and decreases in fast food consumption.
Ng (2020),¹⁸ Ireland	Apr 2020	age 12–18, n = 1214	PACE+ (days of ≥60 min PA/week), Perceived changes in frequency of PA (3-point), PA barriers and facilitators (open-ended), (online)	Perceived changes	Adolescents displayed less PA (50%), no change (30%), or more PA (20%) during lockdown. Adolescents with prior strong PA habits were over two times more likely to report more PA during lockdown than those with weak PA habits. The biggest barrier to PA was club training cancellations; adolescents who increased their PA stated that the school closure provided them more time for PA.
Orgilés (2020),²⁰ Italy and Spain	N/A (before Jun 2020, submitted)	age 3–18, n = 1143	PAT (min/day), (online)	Recall	Children has significantly less PA, more ST, and longer SD during quarantine. Only 14.8% of youth undertook ≥60 min/day of PA, compared to before the quarantine (54.1%). Higher level of parental stress was related to more ST and less PAT and SD.
Ruíz-Roso (2020),²¹ Italy, Spain, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia	Apr–May 2020	age 10–19, n = 726	IPAQ-long form, (online)	Recall	The proportion of adolescents considered inactive was 73.0% before social isolation and 79.5% during. Adolescents in Latin America and those whose mothers have high levels of education were less active during lockdown.
Sá (2020),²⁹ Brazil	Mar 2020	age 0–12, n = 816	Perceived changes in frequency of PA (5-point), PAT (h/day), (online)	Perceived changes	Most parents reported reductions in PA among their children (much less: 46.1%; less: 37.0%) and increases in ST and family activities during isolation.
Schmidt (2020),²² Germany	Aug 2018–Mar 2020 (BL), Apr–May 2020 (FU)	age 4–17, n = 1711	MoMo-PAQ (28 items for PAL), (online)	BL-FU	Days with ≥60 min of PA significantly increased (+0.44 day/week). Total PA increased, associated with increased habitual activities, but participation in sport activities declined. Adolescents (age 14–17) saw a lower increase in PA and a greater increase in ST than younger children.
Sekulic (2020),²³ Croatia	Sep–Oct 2019 (fitness test), Feb 2020 (PAL-BL), Apr 2020 (PAL-FU)	age 15–18, n = 388	BL fitness test, PAQ-A, (online)	BL-FU	PAL significantly decreased in total sample (2.99–2.67, PAQ-A) and boys (3.10–2.79); no differences were found in girls (2.71–2.59). Youth with higher BL fitness were positively correlated with higher PAL during social distancing.
Yang (2020),³² China	Jan–Feb 2020	age 19.8 ± 2.3, n = 10082	IPAQ-long form, (online)	Recall	Frequency of PA significantly decreased, while SB, SD, and ST increased. BMI significantly increased during lockdown in the overall youth sample (21.8–22.6). Overweight/obese children have significantly increased (21.3%–25.1%).
Zenic (2020),²⁴ Croatia	Sep–Oct. 2019 (fitness test) Mar 2020 (PAL-BL), Apr 2020 (PAL-FU)	age 16.5 ± 2.1, n = 823	BL fitness test, PAQ-A, (online)	BL-FU	PAL decreased significantly in the total sample (2.97–2.63, PAQ-A). Adolescents in urban areas had a greater decrease in PAL (3.11–2.68, PAQ-A) than those in rural areas. The BL fitness of urban adolescents predicted their PAL during the pandemic; no evidence for the same was found among rural adolescents.

a The age of samples is given as the age of the children; in some studies, however, parents were asked to evaluate the PA levels for younger children.

BL = baseline; BMI = body mass index; CI = confidence interval; FU = follow-up; IPAQ = International Physical Activity Questionnaire; MoMo-PAQ = MoMo physical activity questionnaire; MVPA = moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

OR = odds ratio; PACE+ = PACE + Adolescent Physical Activity Measure; PAL = PA level; PAQ-A = Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents; PAT = PA time; SB = sedentary behavior; SD = sleep duration; ST = screen time; YAP = Youth Activity Profile questionnaire.