الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The COVID-19 virus outbreak had led to significant changes in daily life for children. Insufficient physical activity and excessive sedentary behaviour among children represent a significant problem. Purposes: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on movement and play behaviours of normal children in Egypt. Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional sample of 400 normal healthy Egyptian children aged 5–14 years. An adapted Arabic version of the outbreak survey was filled out to assess child’s movement behaviours before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Descriptive statistics, associations between movement and play behaviours, demographic data, and test-retest reliability were measured. Results: The Arabic version of the outbreak survey was found to be strongly reliable. 57% of the Egyptian children met the WHO sleep recommendations, 36.9% met the moderate to vigorous physical activity WHO recommendations, 12.3% met the screen time WHO recommendations and only 2.3% met the 24h combined movement behaviour guidelines during COVID-19 restrictions related to WHO. Egyptian children had lower physical activity levels, higher sedentary behaviours and less sleep during the outbreak. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions had an adverse impact on the movement and play behaviours of Egyptian children. These findings can guide efforts to preserve and promote child health in the future. |