Physical activity in children with a chronic illness during the COVID-19 outbreak : the role of motor competence and motivation towards sport

In children, adequate motor competence is essential for the acquisition and maintenance of a physically active and healthy lifestyle. Clearly, children with a chronic illness are severely challenged in this respect, due to physical difficulties and psychosocial obstacles. Furthermore, it is known that these challenges are even greater in families with a low socio-economic status. The quarantine measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an increase in online activities that potentially foster physical activity, however, we hypothesise that those may not have reached the vulnerable group of children with chronic diseases. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate if the level of physical activity in the quarantine had changed in comparison with the previous year in a group of children with a chronic disease and in a healthy control group. Furthermore, we aimed to explore the role of motor competence and motivation towards sport in the potential change of physical activity. During the Summer of 2020, seventy children with a chronic disease (31 girls, age range: 6-18), including 43 with renal failure, 15 with cystic fibrosis, 9 with diabetes and 3 with inflammatory bowel disease, completed the Flemish Physical Activity Questionnaire to measure the level of physical activity during the pandemic and at a similar time the year before. Motor competence was evaluated using a qualitative video assessment of core movement activities and motivation towards sports was assessed with a validated questionnaire. The same data were collected on a control group of 136 healthy control children (75 girls, age range: 6-18). The preliminary results of this study (based on 31 patients, of which 18 with renal failure, 11 with cystic fibrosis and 2 with diabetes and 30 control children) show a considerable decrease in the total amount of physical activity during the pandemic relative to the previous year in both groups. In the patient group, the level of sedentary activity remained unaltered and high, but the amount of walking and cycling during transport increased. When controlled for age, children with a chronic illness demonstrate a lower level of motor competence and less autonomous motivation towards sport than the control group. These preliminary findings highlight the importance of stimulating and monitoring motor development and physical activity in children with chronic diseases, during as well as after the pandemic.