Abstract
Statement of Problem: Obesity is becoming more common in children worldwide and has been three times more prevalent in children in the United States since the 1970s (Obesity, 2018). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States put a lockdown in place that closed down schools, businesses, and even parks (Cowan et al., 2020). Since the COVID-19 lockdown, many studies have found an increase in youth's BMI (Moore et al., 2020; Woolford et al., 2021). There has been limited research on the change in children's fitness levels since the start of the pandemic. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare the fitness levels of a cohort of fifth-grade students from before the COVID-19 lockdown (February through March 2019) to a cohort of fifth-grade students from after the return of the lockdown (November through December 2021). The purpose of this study is to compare students’ fitness levels from before the start of the COVID-19 lockdown to after the return of the lockdown by comparing FitnessGram® subtests (PACER, Curl-Up, Push-Up, Shoulder Stretch, Trunk Lift, and BMI) from the students in the two cohorts.
Sources of Data: FitnessGram® subtests results (20M PACER (cardiovascular endurance), Push up, Curl Up, Trunk Lift (strength and endurance), Shoulder Stretch (flexibility), and BMI) of fifth-grade students were analyzed to assess participant's fitness levels. Forty-eight fifth-grade students from a Northern California school participated in the study. Forty-two fifth graders (21 male and 21 female) in the pre-lockdown cohort (February through March 2019) and 42 fifth graders (21 male and 21 female) in the cohort from after the return from the lockdown (November through December 2021). The 2021 cohort was larger, so stratified random sampling based on gender was used to get a matched cohort. The FitnessGram® subtests and BMI were analyzed using a Student's T-Test to test for significant relationships.
Conclusions Reached: The results indicate that participants BMI increased by an average of 2.5% from 2019 to 2021. Overall fitness levels also decreased in the PACER and Curl-Up subtests. Students with a higher BMI resulted in having a lower passing rate on fitness tests that involved cardiovascular endurance and arm and core strength and endurance. Male participants resulted in a significant decrease in fitness levels and BMI. A notable finding from the study was that participants in the healthy weight category significantly decreased the number of FitnessGram® subtests passed, resulting in BMI not being the only factor changing fitness levels from before the lockdown to after the return of the lockdown.
Implications: Results from this study can be used to build activity programs for children who have limited access to means of physical activity or need to add more physical activity to their daily lives. This may include children in a lockdown, who are homeschooled, on a school break, or are overweight.