Active breaks during virtual classrooms in schoolchildren in times of COVID-19 pandemic: A strategy to increase physical activity levels

Abstract

• As a result of the closure of schools to control COVID-19 transmission, the lifestyle of schoolchildren changed, with an increase in excess malnutrition, sedentary behavior, decreased outdoor time and increased screen time.
• The modification in the execution of classes in their new modalities (on-site or virtual) does not modify the deleterious effects of the sedentary behavior of schoolchildren.
• Short cumulative active breaks can be an efficient strategy to meet the minimum physical activity recommendations suggested by the WHO for children and adolescents aged 5-17 years.