Physical Activity of Slovak Adolescents during the “Second Wave” of Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: An active participation in physical activity is associated with several elements of successful aging, including psychosocial health and well-being. Not getting enough physical activity and increased psychosocial health problems are observed worldwide especially during the first year of Covid-19 pandemic and for that reason, the present study was aimed at analyzing and comparing physical activity of Slovak adolescents during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: Standardized measure to estimate the habitual practice of physical activity (IPAQ-SF) was carried out through intentional sampling of 2375 Slovak adolescents (54.56 % of them adolescent girls), aged 17-19 years (mean 18.10 ± 0.60 years), attending the last year of grammar and vocational secondary schools of Slovakia. Basic descriptive statistics, chi-square test (χ2) and Two -Sample T-Test were used to analyze and compare the data. Results: During the last seven days, on average, 60.55 % (n = 1438) of Slovak adolescents engaged in high physical activity and 23.60 % (n = 560) of them engaged in moderate physical activity. Low physical activity was reported by 15.85 % (n = 377) of Slovak adolescents and total physical activity, expressed in MET-minutes/week, was significantly (p < 0.01) higher among the Slovak adolescent boys (2670 MET) than girls (1795 MET).Discussions: Physical activity levels of adolescents worldwide (1.3 billion) are reducing during the Covid-19 pandemic due to lockdown restrictions; however the Slovak adolescents’ physical activity levels during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic are similar to pre-pandemic times