(Quebec) What many childhood observers feared has been confirmed: children in Quebec and Canada have moved less since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and have seen their screen time jump.
Posted at 3:29 p.m.
Participaction’s latest Report Card on Physical Activity in Children and Youth finds that physical activity, which was already well below recommendations, has dropped with the implementation of containment measures.
The percentage of children meeting the recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of 60 minutes a day increased from 39% before the pandemic to 28% during the pandemic.
“Over two years of COVID, with the strict measures, the obligation to stay at home, the curfew, the levels have come down. The young people could not go and play soccer, hockey…” notes in an interview the Dr Jean-Philippe Chaput, associate professor at the University of Ottawa and member of the Bulletin’s research committee.
Screen time has increased significantly between 2020 and 2022. Virtual education has, unsurprisingly, increased screen time. The grade assigned to this chapter went from D+ in 2020 to F two years later.
However, Participaction is noticing an increase in outdoor activities for young people. “People were tired of staying at home,” remarks the Dr chaput.
But overall, he notes that the pandemic has led to “a decline in physical activity and an increase in screen time”. “There are children with parents who are extremely sedentary, who don’t move around the house,” he says. At least at school they are exposed to a more active environment. »
These results do not surprise the DD Julie St-Pierre, pediatrician specializing in the treatment of obesity. “This is not the first study in the world that shows this trend,” she said.
“Now, what is important is that the parents get back to their routines: Saturday is swimming, during the week we go to soccer, she says… Many people in our pediatric offices tell us that they don’t have not resumed activities among young people. »
She notes that other factors besides the pandemic are fueling the sedentary lifestyle. She hears more and more about crime in Montreal, and the fear of some parents to let their children play in the park. Or even inflation, which pushes parents to cut back on the budgets allocated to sport.
“I really think that the next Minister for Sports, whether Isabelle Charest or someone else, will have to take this problem very seriously, and put measures in place such as free programs for young people,” said the DD St Pierre.
Participaction data comes from a multitude of sources, as objective as possible, that is to say with measurement tools rather than questionnaires. “The child can’t really cheat,” notes Jean-Philippe Chaput.