Entwicklung der körperlichen Leistungsfähigkeit bei Kindern während der coronabedingten Einschränkungen im Frühjahr/Sommer 2020.

Aim
Due to the increasing spread of the coronavirus and the accompanying containment measures, physical activity opportunities for children were severely restricted. The present study focuses on changes in children?s physical fitness during this period.

Methods
We conducted an almost full census of 131 primary school children in the 2nd grade in Bad Dürkheim, assessing their physical fitness immediately before the school closures on 16 March 2020 and after the end of the summer holidays in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The standardised German motor skills test with representative reference values was used. For evaluation, we used repeated measures analysis of variance.

Results
We found a significant increase in physical fitness and BMI for the total sample during the observation period. Only in the dimensions of speed and endurance did the children show less development than would have been expected for their age. The proportion of overweight children increased from 17.7 to 23.8%.

Conclusion
The results show that the frequently formulated fear that the Corona-related restrictions in spring/summer 2020 could have negative effects on children?s physical development is not completely justified. However, in the view of the authors, the developments in BMI and endurance diagnosed in the short observation period should definitely be understood as a warning signal in the case of further restricted physical activity offers due to school closures, suspended sport clubs.