ReviewChildren (Basel, Switzerland)2025
Reduced Physical Activity and Increased Weight Status in Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.
Review in Children (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sleep duration and risk of high blood pressure in adolescents: a cross-sectional study from the Thai National Health Examination Survey VI, 2020 (NHES-VI).BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Enhancing Physical Literacy Domains Through the Spectrum of Teaching Styles in Recess-Based Active Breaks: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Secular Trends in Height, Body Mass, and BMI among Girls in the Eastern Poland Region (1986-2021): Public Health Perspectives.Zdravstveno varstvo · 2026Article
- Temporal trends in after-school activities among students from 2019 to 2022.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Acute Effects of Exercise on Metabolic, Inflammatory, and Immune Markers in Adolescent Girls with Normal Weight or Overweight/Obesity.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Prevalence and age-related trends of overweight and obesity among Saudi children aged 2-14 years during the COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective cross-sectional study.SAGE open medicine · 2026Article
- Recalling Perceptions, Emotions, Behaviours, and Changes in Weight Status Among University Students After the Pandemic Experience.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Delayed Intervention for Severe Childhood Obesity in Poland: A 7-Year Gap Between Onset and Specialized Care.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lifestyles of children and adolescents because of the restrictions imposed to contain the infection. This systematic review examined the possible reduction in children's and adolescents' physical activity and changes in their BMI and weight status.
methodsA systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42024589208) of English-language studies published up to 1 October 2024 in individuals with a mean age between 6 and 18 years that investigated physical activity data before and during or after the pandemic and focused on their BMI and weight status according to age, sex, and country making use of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, identified 1040 possible articles.
resultsFollowing the PRISMA statement, 26 articles with a whole set of 138,737 children and adolescents were enclosed in the review. The majority of included articles were of moderate quality, as determined by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale adapted for observational studies. The studies found a decrease in PA, an increase in sedentary activities during/after the lockdown, and an increase in BMI and prevalence of overweight and obesity, especially in males and 8-11-year-olds.
conclusionsThe interruption or restriction of outdoor physical activities and sports during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a more sedentary lifestyle among children and adolescents, contributing to an overall increase in BMI and obesity, with alarming implications for related health risks and other noncommunicable diseases. Therefore, the adverse effects of restrictive measures should be assessed when implementing public health strategies during pandemics.
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