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Observational Study
. 2022 Sep 8:67:1604978.
doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604978. eCollection 2022.

Lifestyle Behaviours of Children and Adolescents During the First Two Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland and Their Relation to Well-Being: An Observational Study

Gabriela P Peralta  1 , Anne-Linda Camerini  2 , Sarah R Haile  1 , Christian R Kahlert  3   4 , Elsa Lorthe  5 , Laura Marciano  2   6 , Andres Nussbaumer  4 , Thomas Radtke  1 , Agne Ulyte  1 , Milo A Puhan  1 , Susi Kriemler  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Lifestyle Behaviours of Children and Adolescents During the First Two Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland and Their Relation to Well-Being: An Observational Study

Gabriela P Peralta et al. Int J Public Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: To describe changes in adherence to recommendations for physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep duration over the first two waves of the pandemic in Switzerland, and to assess the associations of these lifestyle behaviours with life satisfaction and overall health as well-being indicators. Methods: In this observational study, we included 2,534 participants (5-16 years) from four Swiss cantons. Participants, or their parents, completed repeated questionnaires and reported on their (child's) lifestyle and well-being, between June 2020 and April 2021. We used linear and logistic regression models to assess the associations between lifestyle and well-being. Results: The percentage of children meeting the recommendations for PA and ST decreased from the pre-pandemic period to the first wave, with a slight recovery during the second wave. Participants meeting all three recommendations during the second wave were more likely to report excellent health (OR: 1.65 [95% CI: 1.00-2.76]) and higher life satisfaction (β: 0.46 [0.16-0.77]) in early 2021 than participants not meeting any recommendation. Conclusion: We showed a substantial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's and adolescents' lifestyle, and a positive association between meeting lifestyle recommendations and well-being.

Keywords: COVID-19; children and adolescents; lifestyle; physical activity; screen time; sleep; well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Details on data collection per canton (Corona Immunitas, Switzerland, 2020–2021). Abbreviations: GR, Graubünden: SG, St. Gallen; TI, Ticino; ZH, Zurich. In TI, SG and GR, participants completed questionnaires following a rolling enrolment. Therefore, participants were invited to the second assessment 3 months after the first assessment.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Prevalence of participants meeting recommendations for physical activity, screen time and sleep duration by age group (Corona Immunitas, Switzerland, 2020–2021). Abbreviations: PA, physical activity; sleep, sleep duration; ST, screen time; y, years. Time points: before pandemic: before March 2020; during lockdown: between 16 March and 10 May 2020; second wave: between October 2020 and January 2021. Shaded area represents 95% confidence intervals. We classified participants as meeting recommendations according to international guidelines: ≥1 h/day of PA, ≤2 h/day of ST, and the recommended range by age-groups for sleep duration (i.e., 10–13 h/nigh of sleep for age 5 years, 9–11 h/night for ages 6–13 years, 8–10 h/night for ages 14–16 years).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Number of recommendations met by age group (Corona Immunitas, Switzerland, 2020–2021). Abbreviations: y, years. Time points: before pandemic: before March 2020; during lockdown: between 16 March and 10 May 2020; second wave: between October 2020 and January 2021.
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