Photo/Illutration Toddlers tend to have less physical activity during the new coronavirus pandemic as they can't do much on their own unless their parents ensure that exercise is part of their routine. (The Asahi Shimbun)

Researchers are calling on parents to keep their children active as the number of steps taken by those aged 3 to 5 dropped by up to 60 percent while staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“If children continue to have less chances for exercise, it could result in a drop in their body strength,” said Hisashi Naito, professor of health and sports science at Juntendo University.

Naito is a member of a joint research team formed by the university and Kao Corp., a manufacturer of household and chemical products.

The team’s study to gauge physical activity during the pandemic involved 53 children aged 1-5 and their 41 mothers who reside in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

They were asked to count their steps with a pedometer after waking up and before going to bed between May 1 and May 14, during a state of emergency declared by the central government. 

The study also asked the mothers whether they went out and where they spent time.

The researchers found a drop of about 20-60 percent in the number of steps among children aged 3 to 5, compared with the number averaged by those in the same age group in a previous study.

In contrast, the reduction was only 10-20 percent on the mothers' part.

The children were more significantly affected than their mothers primarily because their lifestyle was impacted by closure of nursery schools due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

The team also discovered that the number of children’s steps depended on whether they went out or not.

There were about 30 percent fewer steps for children aged 1 to 2 if they stayed home.

For children ages 3 to 5, it was some 40 percent fewer.

The latest study also showed that children at 1-2 tend to take more steps if their mothers actively walk around.

The volume of activity by children in this age bracket will increase if their parents spend time together with them since toddlers can't do much on their own, unlike children aged 3 to 5.

Naito said the researchers will work on a solution to improve children’s physical strength during the pandemic as they obtained a realistic picture of how a family's exercise time was affected through the latest study.

Related News