ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SCREEN TIME AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PERFORMED BY SCHOOLCHILDREN IN METROPOLITAN LIMA DURING THE STATE OF EMERGENCY DUE TO COVID-19

Abstract

Nowadays in the pandemic of Covid-19, it is important to know the ravages of the state of emergency in schoolchildren. For this reason, this cross-sectional analytical study aims to determine the association between screen time and the level of physical activity (PA). A total of 169 primary school students from Metropolitan Lima participated. They were evaluated through the screen time questionnaire, the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) and a sociodemographic report. The results indicate that 52.1% gained weight during the pandemic and 62.7% of students used screens for more than 5 hours on a typical day from Monday to Friday. The PAQ-C determined that 74.6% did not comply with the recommended physical activity times (AF-NR= < 2.73). In this study, no statistical association was found between children's screen time and meeting recommended physical activity levels. However, variables such as the number of siblings, having had household members with Covid-19 symptoms, and the time per week receiving remote PA workshops were found to be associated with PA-NR.