Youth physical activity and the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

Abstract

The purpose of the systematic review was to identify, evaluate, and synthesize evidence from available published literature examining the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on youth physical activity (PA). A systematic review of the literature was conducted for years 2020-2021. Published articles were searched in eight databases. Inclusion criteria included: availability of full-text, written in English language, and reported quantitative or qualitative results of original or secondary data on PA and COVID-19 related factors among youth (ages 5-17 years). A standard quality assessment tool assessed risk of bias and quality of included articles. The search retrieved 2,899 articles with 51 articles ultimately meeting inclusion criteria. The majority of articles (65 %) investigated change in PA from before to during the pandemic. Most evidence indicated an overall decrease in youth PA levels during the pandemic with differences observed among sub-populations (e.g., age, sex or gender), type, and location. Findings suggest pandemic-related closures hindered PA participation due to a high reliance on school- and sport-based PA. Programmatic strategies (e.g., activity breaks, active curriculum, free online activities/lessons) should include aligning intervention measures and geared towards evolving and ongoing PA promotion based on the latest findings.

Keywords: (COVID-19), coronavirus disease 2019; (PA), physical activity; Adolescents; COVID-19; Children; Exercise.

Fig. 1

PRISMA Flow Diagram of Article Selection.

Fig. 2

Comparisons of articles assessing current physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 pandemic and change in PA from before to during the pandemic.