AUTHOR=Haile Sarah R. , Gunz Samuel , Peralta Gabriela P. , Ulytė Agnė , Raineri Alessia , Rueegg Sonja , Yasenok Viktoriia , Radtke Thomas , Puhan Milo A. , Kriemler Susi 

TITLE=Health-Related Quality of Life and Adherence to Physical Activity and Screen Time Recommendations in Schoolchildren: Longitudinal Cohort Ciao Corona

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=68

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2023.1606033

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2023.1606033

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> We investigated changes in adherence to physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) recommendations of children and adolescents throughout the pandemic, and their association with health-related quality of life (HRQOL).</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> 1,769 primary (PS, grades 1–6) and secondary (SS, 7–9) school children from Ciao Corona, a school-based cohort study in Zurich, Switzerland, with five questionnaires 2020–2022. HRQOL was assessed using the KINDL questionnaire. PA (≥60 min/day moderate-to-vigorous PA) and ST (≤2 h/day ST) recommendations followed WHO guidelines.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Adherence to PA recommendations dropped in 2020 (83%–59% PS, 77%–52% SS), but returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2022 (79%, 66%). Fewer children met ST recommendations in 2020 (74% PS, 29% SS) and 2021 (82%, 37%) than pre-pandemic (95%, 68%). HRQOL decreased 3 points between 2020 and 2022, and was 9.7 points higher (95% CI 3.0–16.3) in March 2021 in children who met both versus no recommendations.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Adherence to WHO guidelines on PA and ST during the pandemic had a consistent association with HRQOL despite longitudinal changes in behavior.</p>