Pandemic-Era Unhealthy Weight Gain in Children Documented in CUYS Health Survey

During springtime “Soccer Saturdays” that ran from mid-March through mid-May, Chester Upland Youth Soccer families completed a brief survey that captured sentiments about physical activity and fitness during the pandemic to date. 

According to the survey results, parents and guardians wanted their children to get 6.9 hours of physical activity each week, but less than 20% were achieving that, and 80% were physically active for five hours or less per week. Nearly 40% reported their children had gained an unhealthy amount of weight during the pandemic.

According to Dr. Gary Davis, President and CEO of ChesPenn Health Services, “We know that programmatic environment is a social determinant of health. The pandemic has had obvious direct effects on the health of the population, and here we have a suggestion of its effect on a social determinant of health.”

Here are the questions and a summary of the survey results as completed by the parents and guardians of children in attendance:

Since COVID restrictions took effect, have you become concerned that your child is not getting enough physical activity? 

76% responded yes

Has your child gained an unhealthy amount of weight during COVID restrictions? 

39% responded yes

Is your child less physically fit now compared with before the pandemic? 

64% responded yes

In a typical week BEFORE the pandemic started, how many hours did your child participate in sports/engage in physical activity, informal active play and organized sports?

6% estimated less than 1 hour

48%: 1-5 hours

33%: 6-10 hours

13%: 10+ hours

Average estimate: 5.6 hours

In a typical week DURING the pandemic, how many hours did your child participate in sports/engage in physical activity, informal active play and organized sports?

41% estimated less than 1 hour

39%: 1-5 hours

13%: 6-10 hours

7%: 10+ hours 

Average estimate: 3.3 hours

How many hours per week do you think your child should engage in physical activity?

Average: 6.9 hours

Before the pandemic how important was it for your child to participate in organized sports for his/her health? (Participants were asked to choose from 1-5 in which 1=not very and 5=extremely.)

Average : 4.2

52% chose 5

70% chose 5 or 4

How important is it to you now that your child participates in organized sports for his/her health? (Participants were asked to choose from 1-5 in which 1=not very and 5=extremely.)

Average 4.6

70% chose 5

91% chose 5 or 4

Chester Upland Youth Soccer is offering a variety of in-person and virtual programs in an effort to increase kids’ physical activity opportunities this summer. This effort also intends to address the inequity in access to sport.

According to a new survey by the Aspen Institute and Utah State University completed by parents with children ages 6-18 who regularly participated in one or more sports before the pandemic: “Parents who earn $100,000 or more annually reported the highest sports participation rates for their children despite saying they also have the most COVID-19 restrictions preventing play. On average, these children played 14.8 hours a week through pickup games/free play, virtual training, practices and competition, compared to 11.5 hours for kids in homes earning under $50,000 and 10.4 hours in homes making $50,000-$99,999.

That gap has grown during the pandemic. In the Institute’s June 2020 survey, parents in households of $100,000 or more said their children played sports 13.7 hours per week before COVID-19, nearly identical to parents making $50,000-$99,999 homes (13.0 hours) and parents earning under $50,000 (13.4 hours).”

Further, Aspen Institute reported: “In a separate TeamSnap survey of its users conducted by Utah State and Louisiana Tech University’s Minds in Motion Lab, 82% of parents said their child’s screen time ‘increased greatly’ since the pandemic started, while organized sports (69%) and free play (59%) ‘decreased greatly’ since March 2020. The TeamSnap survey was conducted mostly with parents from medium- and high-income households who live in both the U.S. and Canada.”

Dr. Davis of ChesPenn further remarked, “It is easy to give the general advice that kids need less screen-time and more physical activity. But how do kids stay active; where, doing what? Physical activity has been impacted by the pandemic. As a healthcare organization, ChesPenn will redouble our efforts to assess and encourage physical activity among our patients. It is comforting to know that there are programs like CUYS, with which we can connect our pediatric patients. It is so important to their physical and emotional wellness.”

To help Chester Upland Youth Soccer diminish inequities in access to sports, please consider making a donation of money, time and/or other resources: https://cuys.org/donate