Changes in Children’s Physical Fitness Following the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study

Background: Due to the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), all schools in Japan were closed in March 2020, including those providing compulsory education. They remained closed for up to 3 months. Objectives: Researchers investigated the difference in children’s physical fitness results before and after the spring of 2020, during which time Japanese schools were closed and fitness opportunities were limited. Methods: Researchers compared the athletic performances of Japanese elementary school children before and after the COVID-19 pandemic (2014 and 2022 - 2023, respectively). This was a retrospective epidemiological study of 438 students between the ages of 8 and 10 years old at Elementary School A in Osaka Prefecture. Researchers used an unpaired t-test to investigate whether significant differences occurred according to grade, sex, and activity. Results: Results showed that in physical fitness exams for third- and fourth-grade children, the athletic performances of children in 2022 and 2023 significantly declined in all examined activities other than the trunk forward flexion and the 50-m run, compared with children in the same grade in 2014. In the 20-m shuttle run, there was a significant difference at the P < 0.01 level for fourth-grade boys and girls and a significant difference at the P < 0.05 level for those in third grade. In 2023, improvements were seen in explosive exercises. Following the self-restraint period during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 and 2023 physical fitness exam results were substantially inferior in several aspects, compared with the results from similar exams conducted in 2014. Notably, muscle endurance and general endurance had significantly decreased. Conclusions: Because the muscle endurance and general endurance of elementary school students were heavily impacted, sufficient caution is required when resuming physical education activities in the future. It is therefore necessary to teach students how to exercise safely using a detailed exercise program.