Table 1.
Data extraction of studies measuring sedentary time and/or behaviour during COVID-19 in children.
| Author | Population | Country | Restrictions | Sedentary Behaviour Measurement | Health Outcome Measures | Key Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kang et al. [20] | 4898 adolescents 16.3 ± 1.3 years | China | School closures and social distancing | IPAQ-Short Form | Mood (Anger, Tension, Fatigue, Depression, Confusion, Self-esteem and Vigor) | Sedentary time totaled 363.6 ± 148.4 min day−1 No sig. correlation between sedentary time and any mood during COVID restrictions |
| Lu et al. [21] | 965 adolescents 15.3 ± 0.5 years |
China | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ-Short Form | Mental Health outcomes including Insomnia, Depression and Anxiety | 54% adolescents sedentary for ≥ 4 h day−1 Sedentary time associated with higher odds of experiencing insomnia (OR: 1.60), depression (OR: 1.57) and anxiety (OR: 1.35) during lockdown |
| Garcia et al. [27] | 11 adolescents with Autism 16.9 ± 1.4 years | Florida, USA | Lockdown/Homestay requirements | IPAQ Short Form | - | Number of days where participants met the PA guidelines ↓ from 4.2 ± 1.5 days to 2.3 ± 2.2 days Screen time ↑ by 2.6 h⋅day−1 during the week and +1.4 h⋅day−1 on the weekend |
| Sciberras et al. [28] | 213 children with ADHD 11.0 ± 3.9 years |
Australia | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey (CRISIS) | - | Number of children reporting watching TV, social media, and gaming for >1 h⋅day−1 increased by 10.2%, 10.8% and 16.9%, respectively |
| Pietrobelli et al. [29] | 44 obese children 13.0 ± 3.1 years |
Italy | Lockdown/homestay requirements | Two different interview techniques | Screen time ↑ by 4.9 ± 2.4 h⋅day−1 during the lockdown to 7.6 ± 2.1 h⋅day−1 | |
| Lopez-Beuno et al. [30] | 860 children 9.6 ± 3.9 years | Spain | Social distancing, quarantine, and lockdown/homestay requirements | Adapted pre-existing questionnaires | - | Daily screen time ↑ 2.9 ± 2.3 h⋅day−1 No significant sex differences in screen time |
| Medrano et al. [31] | 291 children (113 longitudinal) 12.1 ± 2.6 years | Spain | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Youth PA (YPA) questionnaire | - | Screen time ↑ 1.9 ± 2.6 h day−1 to 6.4 ± 2.4 h day−1 Screen time higher in families of non-Spanish origin and lower education level |
| Palladino et al. [32] | 57 children 8.0 ± 1.6 years | Italy | Lockdown/stay at home orders | Questionnaires to assess total screen time | Likelihood of having a seizure | Daily screen time ↑ from 2.5–5.8 h day−1 from pre-COVID to circa-COVID Sig. correlation between screen time and seizures for epileptic patients (r2 = 0.52) and those with no prior history of seizures (r2 = 0.57) |
| Dutta et al. [33] | 153 participants No overall demographics reported |
India | Lockdown/homestay requirements | Parenting practice scale (PPS) | - | Number of youth reporting using phones, watching TV, Laptops and Tablets from 4–8 h⋅day−1 increased by 8.7%, 5.7%, 2.8% and 0%, respectively |
| Eyimaya and Irmak [34] | 1115 participants 9.0 ± 2.0 years | Turkey | Lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ long-form | 71.7% parents reported an ↑ screen time of approximately 6.4 ± 3.0 h⋅day−1 | |
| Munasinghe et al. [35] | 582 adolescents 17.0 ± 1.0 years |
Australia | Social distancing, school closures and lockdown/homestay requirements |
PACE + Adolescent Physical Activity Measures | - | 41.5% were on social media for ≥ 4 h day−1 55.1% watched TV for ≥ 1 h⋅day−1 |
| Carroll et al. [36] | 310 participants 5.7 ± 2.0 years |
Canada | School closures, closure of parks, and social distancing | IPAQ Short Form | - | Screen time = 2.4 ± 1.6 h⋅day−1 |
| McCormack et al. [37] | 345 parents 10.8 ± 4.0 years | Canada | Social distancing and quarantine measures | Parental recall of child’s PA and sedentary time | Parental COVID anxiety | Majority of children spent ≥ 2 h day−1 watching TV (74.1%), using a computer (63.7%), and using screen-based devices (60.7%) Children of highly anxious parents more likely to be sedentary (OR: 1.78; 1.02–3.11) |
| Schmidt et al. [38] | 1174 children No overall demographics reported | Germany | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Subjective recall questions | - | 4–5 year olds screen time ↑ 41.1 min day−1 6–10 year olds screen time ↑ 67.5 min day−1 11–13 year olds screen time ↑ 60.7 min day−1 14–17 year olds screen time ↑ 67.8 min day−1 |
| Dunton et al. [39] | 211 children 8.7 ± 2.6 years | United States | Closure of schools, parks, and sports cancelled Social Distancing | Recall questionnaires used to estimate screen time | - | Boys TV time 95.7 ± 68.7 min day−1 vs. girls 113.0 ± 79.6 min day−1 Media time for leisure use: boys 30.2 ± 53.4 min day−1 vs. girls 46.4 ± 68.0 min day−1 Children engaged in > 8 h⋅day−1 in leisure-related sitting |
| Mitra et al. [40] | 1472 participants No overall demographics reported |
Canada | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | Online questionnaires—limited details on specifics | - | 78.8% of children reported an increase in screen time 44.6% reported an increase in social media use 48.6% reported an increase in ‘non-screen based’ sedentary behaviour |
| Moore et al. [41] | 1472 children and adolescents Children: 8.1 ± 2.0 years Youth: 14.9 ± 1.7 years |
Canada | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | participACTION survey | - | Screen time (children)—4.1 h day−1 Screen time (youth)—5.0 h day−1 |
| Francisco et al. [42] | 1480 children 9.1 ± 4.3 years |
Multinational (Italy, Spain and Portugal) | Social distancing and lockdown/homestay requirements | IPAQ and the adult sedentary behaviour questionnaire (ASBQ) | - | Number of children reported to engage in >180 min⋅day−1 of screen time ↑ 26.6% |
ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, CI = Confidence Intervals, COVID-19 = novel coronavirus disease 2019, IPAQ = International Physical Activity Questionnaire, OR = Odds Ratio, PA = Physical Activity, SB = Sedentary Behaviour, ST = Sedentary Time, TV = Television.