Lifestyle modification in school-going children before and after COVID-19 lockdown
Purpose: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on lifestyle of school-going children. Methods: This was a questionnaire-based prospective study of 1237 school children aged 9-14 years enrolled from various private and government schools across Delhi in October-December 2020. These...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2021-01-01
|
| Series: | Indian Journal of Ophthalmology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ijo.in/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2021;volume=69;issue=12;spage=3623;epage=3629;aulast=Saxena |
| _version_ | 1797995755720409088 |
|---|---|
| author | Rohit Saxena Vivek Gupta Vaishali Rakheja Rebika Dhiman Amit Bhardawaj Praveen Vashist |
| author_facet | Rohit Saxena Vivek Gupta Vaishali Rakheja Rebika Dhiman Amit Bhardawaj Praveen Vashist |
| author_sort | Rohit Saxena |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on lifestyle of school-going children. Methods: This was a questionnaire-based prospective study of 1237 school children aged 9-14 years enrolled from various private and government schools across Delhi in October-December 2020. These children were being followed-up over the previous 2 years (before pandemic) with details of their lifestyle like near/outdoor/reading activities using a questionnaire as a part of another study. The data during the COVID-19 lockdown was collected by telephonic interview. This was compared to similar information collected from this cohort in the pre-Covid period in 2019 when the students had a regular physical school curriculum. Results: A significant decline was noted in time spent on outdoor activity (from 8.5 hours/week in pre-COVID-19 time to 1.6 hours/week during COVID-19 lockdown; P < 0.001) and doing homework offline (from 15.3 hour/week to 14 hours/week; P < 0.001). A significant increase was noted in screen time spent on digital devices (from 6.2 hours/week to 19.8 hours/week; P<0.001), and watching television (from 12.2 hours/week to 13.4 hours/week; P < 0.001). The rise in the digital on-screen time was significantly more in boys (P < 0.001) and in students from private schools (P < 0.001). The rise in the duration of watching television was significantly more in girls than boys (P < 0.05). Conclusion: COVID-19 lockdown has markedly impacted the lifestyle of school children by significantly decreasing the outdoor activity and increasing the screen time, thereby pre-disposing them to ocular ill-health and myopia. This necessitates the adoption of guidelines for promoting healthy digital habits in children. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:06:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e597727812c343279ba4db12acfa049f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0301-4738 1998-3689 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:06:47Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Indian Journal of Ophthalmology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e597727812c343279ba4db12acfa049f2022-12-22T04:30:14ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Ophthalmology0301-47381998-36892021-01-0169123623362910.4103/ijo.IJO_2096_21Lifestyle modification in school-going children before and after COVID-19 lockdownRohit SaxenaVivek GuptaVaishali RakhejaRebika DhimanAmit BhardawajPraveen VashistPurpose: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on lifestyle of school-going children. Methods: This was a questionnaire-based prospective study of 1237 school children aged 9-14 years enrolled from various private and government schools across Delhi in October-December 2020. These children were being followed-up over the previous 2 years (before pandemic) with details of their lifestyle like near/outdoor/reading activities using a questionnaire as a part of another study. The data during the COVID-19 lockdown was collected by telephonic interview. This was compared to similar information collected from this cohort in the pre-Covid period in 2019 when the students had a regular physical school curriculum. Results: A significant decline was noted in time spent on outdoor activity (from 8.5 hours/week in pre-COVID-19 time to 1.6 hours/week during COVID-19 lockdown; P < 0.001) and doing homework offline (from 15.3 hour/week to 14 hours/week; P < 0.001). A significant increase was noted in screen time spent on digital devices (from 6.2 hours/week to 19.8 hours/week; P<0.001), and watching television (from 12.2 hours/week to 13.4 hours/week; P < 0.001). The rise in the digital on-screen time was significantly more in boys (P < 0.001) and in students from private schools (P < 0.001). The rise in the duration of watching television was significantly more in girls than boys (P < 0.05). Conclusion: COVID-19 lockdown has markedly impacted the lifestyle of school children by significantly decreasing the outdoor activity and increasing the screen time, thereby pre-disposing them to ocular ill-health and myopia. This necessitates the adoption of guidelines for promoting healthy digital habits in children.http://www.ijo.in/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2021;volume=69;issue=12;spage=3623;epage=3629;aulast=Saxenacovid-19 pandemicdigital screen timebehavioural risk factorsrefractive errors |
| spellingShingle | Rohit Saxena Vivek Gupta Vaishali Rakheja Rebika Dhiman Amit Bhardawaj Praveen Vashist Lifestyle modification in school-going children before and after COVID-19 lockdown Indian Journal of Ophthalmology covid-19 pandemic digital screen time behavioural risk factors refractive errors |
| title | Lifestyle modification in school-going children before and after COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_full | Lifestyle modification in school-going children before and after COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_fullStr | Lifestyle modification in school-going children before and after COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lifestyle modification in school-going children before and after COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_short | Lifestyle modification in school-going children before and after COVID-19 lockdown |
| title_sort | lifestyle modification in school going children before and after covid 19 lockdown |
| topic | covid-19 pandemic digital screen time behavioural risk factors refractive errors |
| url | http://www.ijo.in/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2021;volume=69;issue=12;spage=3623;epage=3629;aulast=Saxena |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rohitsaxena lifestylemodificationinschoolgoingchildrenbeforeandaftercovid19lockdown AT vivekgupta lifestylemodificationinschoolgoingchildrenbeforeandaftercovid19lockdown AT vaishalirakheja lifestylemodificationinschoolgoingchildrenbeforeandaftercovid19lockdown AT rebikadhiman lifestylemodificationinschoolgoingchildrenbeforeandaftercovid19lockdown AT amitbhardawaj lifestylemodificationinschoolgoingchildrenbeforeandaftercovid19lockdown AT praveenvashist lifestylemodificationinschoolgoingchildrenbeforeandaftercovid19lockdown |