They doubled screen time and lowered sleep quality: study measures for the first time physical impact of the pandemic on Latin American children of 5 years

Several studies have shown the impact of the pandemic on physical activity, sleep quality and screen time. However, such reports have usually focused on the adult population and schoolchildren, while little evidence has been found in children under five.
Even less, regarding the factors that could have influenced these behaviors and, specifically, in the Latin American world that, according to the WHO, has been one of the populations most affected by the pandemic worldwide, with about 30% of deaths related to Covid-19.
In this context, a recent international study that in Chile was led by the Universidad de la Frontera, revealed for the first time how movement trends changed during the coronavirus among preschoolers of Latino origin.
The main finding was that time spent on screens (cell phones, television, tablets, etc.) practically doubled during the pandemic, while physical activity, mainly in the form of play, was reduced by 20% and that sleep quality fell by 15%.
“The use of screens is coming worryingly at very early stages of development. The excessive use of these, that is, more than 1 hour a day for children of 3 and 4 years, for example, is associated not only with motor difficulties but also with language and emotional difficulties, “warns Dr. Nicolás Aguilar Farías, academic, kinesiologist at UFRO and principal investigator of the study in Chile.
In order to obtain a sample of different realities of the Latin American population, 4,136 children were included in the analyses, 3,045 of them Chilean, while 632 were studied in Mexico and 459 in the United States.
For this report – published in the journal Scientific Reports and which together with UFRO was led by the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico and Washington University in San Luis in the United States – the child, caregiver and household factors associated with changes in movement behaviors during confinement were also examined.
“As the main state university of regions, we seek with this project to continue promoting the contribution that from science and research we can deliver to our society. In this case, this work is an important contribution to the development of local astroengineering from the south of Chile”, details the vice-rector for Research and Postgraduate Studies of UFRO, Rodrigo Navia.
Thus, in Chile it was found that among the most influential in the negative changes related to the movement was to stop attending an educational center, not having the opportunity to play with someone and the lack of a space to play, in addition to residing in urban areas and in particular in departments.

“The lack of adequate spaces to play is affecting the integral development of children. Building and urban planning policies and regulations must consider gambling as a right. The spaces should favor exploration and free play,” says UFRO scientist.
According to the recommendations of the WHO in terms of physical activity, use of screens and sleep for children from 1 to 5 years, three hours of physical activity a day (play) are suggested, minimizing the use of screens. For example, between 3 and 4 years you should not use the screens for more than one hour a day. The above, by virtue of promoting better social, psychological and cognitive development.
“This study and others carried out around the world have shown that gambling must be protected and a priority for countries. Investing in children is one of the best decisions a state can make. Unfortunately, socioeconomic and environmental inequities are also affecting the possibilities of playing and limiting all the benefits it promotes in the integral development of children,” concludes the researcher.

Follow us on

Original source in Spanish

Related Posts

Add Comment