engleski

Evidencing the Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Imposed Lockdown Measures on Fitness Status in Adolescents: A Preliminary Report

It was established that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in decreased physical activitylevels, potentially leading to reduced physical fitness. The aim of this research was to investigatethe impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on fitness indices in adolescents. We observed high schooladolescents (33% girls ; aged 15–17 years) divided into two cohorts. The first cohort (control ; n= 48)included adolescents who were in school during the 2018/2019 year, while the second cohort(lockdown ; n= 66) was observed during the school year 2019/2020 when COVID-19 lockdownmeasures were imposed. Variables included body height, body mass, BMI, sit-ups, and the 600 mdash. Both cohorts were tested at the beginning and at the end of the observed school years. Afactorial analysis of variance for repeated measurements evidenced an improvement in sit-ups andthe 600 m dash in the control, and a decrease of the same capacities in the lockdown cohort. Inthe lockdown cohort, a decrease in muscular fitness was more evident in boys than in girls. Nodifferential changes between cohorts were evidenced in anthropometrics. Results suggest that theCOVID-19 lockdown negatively influenced muscular fitness status in adolescents, especially in boys.

education ; exercise ; health fitness ; pandemic ; physical capacities ; youth

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