ArticlePediatric obesity2022
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elementary schoolers' physical activity, sleep, screen time and diet: A quasi-experimental interrupted time series study.
Article in Pediatric obesity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
83 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 141 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dietary Changes of Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.The Journal of nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Assessment of Changes in Child and Adolescent Screen Time During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA pediatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Global Changes in Child and Adolescent Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA pediatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Global burden of the COVID-19 associated patient-related delay in emergency healthcare: a panel of systematic review and meta-analyses.Globalization and health · 2022Pooled it
- BMI Reporting and Accuracy of Child's Weight Perception.Pediatrics · 2022Trial
- Impact of COVID-19 on childhood obesity: Data from a paediatric weight management trial.Pediatric obesity · 2022Trial
- COVID-19 pandemic and changes in children's physical activity in a rural US community: a mixed methods study.BMJ open · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Five-year trends in U. S. child and adolescent 24-hour movement behavior guideline adherence, 2018-2022.Journal of activity, sedentary and sleep behaviors · 2025Article
- Physical activity and screen time: prospective associations with child emotional and behavioral well-being during the COVID pandemic.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Individual, Social and Environmental Influences on Sleep in Latino Pre-Adolescents: A Qualitative Analysis.Journal of adolescent research · 2025Article
- Adherence to 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Behavioral Health in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the United States.Journal of physical activity & health · 2025Article
- Assessment of Romanian School-Aged Children's Lifestyle and Associated Factors: A Longitudinal Study Performed Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Assessing the Impact of Screen Time on the Motor Development of Children: A Systematic Review.Pediatric discovery · 2025Review
- An Update on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children's Health Behaviors.Academic pediatrics · 2025Review
- Methodological Choices on 24-h Movement Behavior Assessment by Accelerometry: A Scoping Review.Sports medicine - open · 2025Review
- Food and Housing Insecurity, COVID-19 Pandemic Effects on Health-Related Activities, and Care Plans for Children with Obesity.Academic pediatrics · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence, Etiology, Demographics, and Treatment of Craniomaxillofacial Trauma.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Article
- Ecological Momentary Assessment of Momentary Associations Between Availability of Physical Activity Space and Physical Activity Opportunities Among Children from Rural, Urban, and Suburban Locales.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Overweight Prevalence Changes Before and After COVID-19 in Spain: The PESCA Program Longitudinal Outcomes 2018-2021.Nutrients · 2024Article
23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 school closures pose a threat to children's wellbeing, but no COVID-19-related studies have assessed children's behaviours over multiple years .
objectiveTo examine children's obesogenic behaviours during spring and summer of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to previous data collected from the same children during the same calendar period in the 2 years prior.
methodsPhysical activity and sleep data were collected via Fitbit Charge-2 in 231 children (7-12 years) over 6 weeks during spring and summer over 3 years. Parents reported their child's screen time and dietary intake via a survey on 2-3 random days/week.
resultsChildren's behaviours worsened at a greater rate following the pandemic onset compared to pre-pandemic trends. During pandemic spring, sedentary behaviour increased (+79 min; 95% CI = 60.6, 97.1) and MVPA decreased (-10 min, 95% CI = -18.2, -1.1) compared to change in previous springs (2018-2019). Sleep timing shifted later (+124 min; 95% CI = 112.9, 135.5). Screen time (+97 min, 95% CI = 79.0, 115.4) and dietary intake increased (healthy: +0.3 foods, 95% CI = 0.2, 0.5; unhealthy: +1.2 foods, 95% CI = 1.0, 1.5). Similar patterns were observed during summer.
conclusionsCompared to pre-pandemic measures, children's PA, sedentary behaviour, sleep, screen time, and diet were adversely altered during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may ultimately exacerbate childhood obesity.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.