You have lost fitness at the same time. This was the result of a study by sports scientists from the University of Graz with 764 children from Klagenfurt and the surrounding area between the ages of seven and ten years. According to the authors, the results can be transferred to all of Austria.
“In this cohort study with children from Austria, the measures to combat Covid-19 were associated with a decrease in cardiac and respiratory fitness and an increase in the body mass index. The results suggest a need for community efforts to address these To reverse changes in the health status of children and prevent negative long-term health effects, “wrote Gerald Jarnig and his co-authors in the online journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Network Open / August 26).
The questionable findings on the not uncontroversial school closings and the general lockdowns as a result of Covid-19 with the elimination of gymnastics lessons, spending time outdoors and doing sports come from comparative surveys and fitness tests that the scientists carried out in September 2019 and between June and September 2020. They had selected twelve elementary schools in Klagenfurt and the surrounding urban and rural areas. The examinations were carried out directly with the children. Finally, comparative data was available from 764 people’s students (383 / 50.1 percent girls).
Sports performance deteriorated
While 763 participating elementary school children were able to cover an average of 917 meters running distance within six minutes in September 2019, in September 2020 they only managed 815 meters. Even schoolchildren who were enrolled in sports clubs deteriorated from an average of 966.8 meters to 860 meters, the other children from 880.9 meters to 782.2 meters.
In September 2019, of a total of 764 evaluated findings, 20.3 percent of all primary school students were overweight or obese. In September 2020 it was already 24.1 percent. For members of sports clubs, this proportion rose from 15.8 to 20.2 percent, for the other children from 23.5 to 26.9 percent.
The unfavorable trends for health became increasingly evident from September 2019 through June 2020 to September of the same year. For example, the difference in the proportion of overweight and adipses compared to September 2019 and the values exactly one year later was statistically significant.
Covid-19 significantly accelerated the long-term increase in overweight and fat children in the group of primary school children examined. “The increase in the number of overweight or obese children within one year by 3.8 percentage points corresponds roughly to the size of this increase in Austrian children within four years (2014 to 2018),” the scientists found. The results could probably be generalized for the Austrian elementary school students. Since the schools have been temporarily closed again since September 2020 and some lockdowns have been imposed, additional negative consequences cannot be ruled out.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
