Examining the Involvement of Teenagers in Physical Activities throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Study aim(s): The aim of the study is to examine the involvement of teenagers in physical activities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and compare the involvement level to their peers living in other countries in the same conditions. 

Methods: The research included 175 students, 105 females and 71 males, aged 16-19 years from Pristina.  The research was conducted in June 2020, two and a half months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic which caused severely restricted measures including restrictions in free moving known as lockdown. The SPSS 26 packet was used; the descriptive statistics and Man Whitney method were applied. The short-form version of the IPAQ questionnaire was used.

Results: A normal body weight is shown in 72.5% of boys and 62.9% of girls. Overweight, boys (22.5%) girls (37.1%). Regarding the average of physical activity, students are active 3.87 days a week and 41.20 minutes during the day. The amount of energy spent with moderate physical activity is 1776.90 MET/min/week, while with vigorous physical activity; it is 734.64 MET/min/week. The total energy consumed was 1268.73 MET/min/week. Girls sit an average of 3.08 hours a day. In terms of moderate physical activity, girls are active 3.58 days a week and 27.24 minutes during the day. The obtained results show that the amount of energy expended with moderate physical activity is 1065.71 MET/min/week, while with vigorous physical activity; it is 821.71 MET/min/week.

Conclusions: Adolescents from Pristina, during the COVID-19 pandemic, although under the Government's restrictive measures, showed good values in terms of moderate physical activity, and in terms of vigorous physical activity are significantly below the minimum recommended requirements. In terms of gender, boys are shown to be more active in moderate physical activity, while girls are better than boys only in vigorous physical activity during the day.