Life Habits of Children and Young People during Social Isolation Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Curkovic, N.; Lukacin, L.; Katavic, I.

The aim of the study was to examine the habits of high school and primary school students related to diet and physical activity before and after the period of social isolation. Furthermore, the relationship between parents' attitudes about the importance of physical activity and their children's motivation to engage in it was examined. The online questionnaire was completed by 25,274 parents of primary school students and 5,169 high school graduates from the Republic of Croatia. The results show a trend of decreasing motivation to engage in physical activities, as well as an increase in the number of meals consumed per day among all students. Furthermore, there was a low positive correlation between parental attitudes and the motivation of their children to engage in physical activity both before and during social isolation. In conclusion, this large-scale study showed that due to social isolation there was a significant decrease in the motivation for physical activity and an increase in the number of daily meals.