COVID-19 curbs linked to global decline in kid’s movement skills

London: A new study has identified a consistent decline in motor competence in children and adolescents following COVID-19 restrictions.

The analysis, published in the Journal of Sport Sciences, examines how the pandemic restrictions affected movement skills, analysing measured changes in motor competence before and after lockdowns, school closures and reduced access to physical activity. It suggests that there was a trend of reduced ability to balance and move well – that is, to jump, hop, run and skip.

Researchers at the University of Strathclyde assessed studies of more than 278,000 children and young people aged three to 19, published from 2015 onwards, that directly measured motor competence (MC). Overall, ten out of 11 eligible studies reported a reduction in motor competence following the pandemic, with one reporting a 50 per cent increase in the prevalence of motor problems. The research also suggests a decline in the ability to manipulate objects, like throwing and catching. The findings reflect small to moderate reductions among children aged three to 12 years across the studies from Europe, Asia, and South America. The most significant declines were observed in overall ability and in children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Motor competence is an individual’s degree of proficient performance in a broad range of motor skills and the underlying mechanisms.agencies