Influence of gender on physical activity types and behaviour during and pre-COVID-19 pandemic among school-age children living in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The detrimental effects of COVID-19 pandemic may have a long-lasting effect on the children’s physical health. Previous studies showed that the children’s participation in physical activity (PA) have declined during the pandemic. This study examined the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on PA types and influence of gender on PA participation. Methods Parent of Saudi children (ages 6-9 years) were recruited through convenience sampling and completed an online survey between 24 July – 5 August 2020. The parent-reported survey included demographics, PA types and behaviour across three time periods (pre COVID-19, during COVID-19 lockdown, and after lockdown where social distancing applied, but no lockdown). Additionally, parent rated the types of PA participation such as swimming, walking, football, virtual gaming, and playground activity, etc. during the different periods of time. Results Parent reported that children (n=361), mean age 7.7 ± 1.1 years, participated in PA pre COVID-19 pandemic more often than during COVID-19 lockdown in different PA types such as; swimming (50% vs 38%), jumping (29% vs 19%) bicycle (38% vs 28%), football (42% vs 18%) and running (27% vs 16%). Additionally, PA type participation was shown to be influenced by gender according to the multiple regression models conducted to different PA types. Conclusion The result of this study shows that children’s participation in PA has declined following the pandemic. In addition, the children’s gender affects their level of participation as males participated in PA more than females. These findings suggest that more efforts should be directed toward investigating the reasons for these differences and encouraging equal participation.