ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2024
The impact of inactivity during the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical performance of high school athletes.
Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Phase-specific changes in anthropometric and physical fitness outcomes among Chinese upper-secondary students before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic: the moderating role of educational track.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Trends in physical fitness among children and adolescents in Europe: A systematic review and meta-analyses during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of sport and health science · 2025Review
- Longitudinal study on the impact of public health event control measures on physical fitness among Chinese adolescents: a southern city perspective.BMC public health · 2024Article
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8 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectiveThis study was conducted during the 2019-2020 academic year to evaluate the impact of participation in school sports on students' Body Mass Index (BMI) and Assessing Levels of Physical Activity (ALPHA) test scores. Interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a suspension of in-person education, the study resumed in September 2021, refocusing on the effects of pandemic-induced inactivity on the physical fitness levels of the same cohort.
methodsThe study included twenty-nine male high school students (age: 17,24 ± 0,73 years), divided into thirteen athletes (participating in sports such as football, basketball, and track) and sixteen non-athletic counterparts. They underwent reassessment using the ALPHA test battery, evaluating cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and motor skills fitness. Data were analyzed using independent and paired samples t-tests and a two-way repeated measures ANOVA to assess changes over time and between groups. Discriminant function analysis evaluated the ALPHA test's ability to classify students based on their athletic status pre- and post-pandemic.
resultsInitially, athlete students exhibited significantly better BMI, 20 m shuttle run, and 4 × 10 m speed run scores compared to their non-athlete peers. After the pandemic, only the 20 m shuttle run scores remained significantly higher for athletes, with diminished distinctions in other fitness areas. The classification accuracy of the ALPHA test battery decreased from 89.7 to 75.9% post-pandemic.
conclusionThe enforced sedentary lifestyle due to the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected all students, particularly diminishing health-related fitness parameters such as body composition, cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal strength, and motor skills. Students previously engaged in regular physical activity, notably school athletes, experienced significant fitness declines. This highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions to encourage active lifestyles among youth in the post-pandemic phase, aiming to avert long-term adverse health outcomes.
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