Abstract
This study aims to describe and compare adherence to the 24-Hour Movement
Guidelines (recommendations for physical activity, screen time, and sleep
duration) among children before and during COVID-19 pandemic . The literature
search was conducted on Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus for
quantitative studies on 24-hour movement behaviors, published in English. The
studies were categorized by collection date into before the pandemic (June 16th,
2016 – March 10, 2020) and during the pandemic (March 11th, 2020 – May 5, 2023),
with all studies included. A random-effects model was employed to synthesize the
adherence rates, and subgroup analyses were conducted based on age, sex, region,
and Human development index (HDI) groups. Before the pandemic, 12.1% (95%
CI:10.3%–13.9%) of overall children met the three recommendations. During the
pandemic, 8.6% (95% CI: 6.4%–11.4%) of overall children met the three
recommendations. The adherence to the three recommendations during the pandemic
was 3.5% lower (p<0.05) than before the pandemic, with significant regional
differences (p<0.05). Most children fail to meet the guidelines in any
period. The adherence to the three 24-Hour Movement Guidelines during the
pandemic was lower than before, with varying degrees of low adherence across
different groups.
Keywords
movement behaviors - lifestyle - children - physical activity - sedentary behavior