Older children and immunity

 Older children have faced unique challenges since March 2020, and several research teams are focusing on how these challenges may affect immunity for this age group.

A survey that researchers conducted in Canada and published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity analyzed the changes in movement and play behaviors in children immediately following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The results showed that only 4.8% of children and 0.6% of youths were meeting the combined movement behavior guidelines during this time.

Both children and youths had lower physical activity levels, spent less outside time, had higher leisure screen time, and got more sleep overall during the survey period.

The researchers note that healthy movement behaviors positively contribute to both the physical and mental health of young people, including the development of stronger immune systems. Therefore, these initial findings present some cause for concern.

The authors do note that family dog ownership and parental encouragement and support were positively linked to healthy movement behaviors.

Meanwhile, another survey — this time by the Children’s Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom — set out to understand how school-age children were experiencing stress during the initial lockdown period.

Researchers conducted surveys of around 2,000 school children aged 8–17 years in England in March and June 2020 to gauge the causes and frequency of their stress during lockdown.

Interestingly, they found that as lockdown progressed, many children felt stressed less often. Specifically, between March and June 2020, the percentage of children who felt stressed some of the time decreased from 47% to 34%, and the percentage of children who felt “rarely or never stressed” increased from 23% to 42%.

Based on survey response answers, the researchers speculate that the reason for the children’s stress levels decreasing during this period is that little, everyday worries went away during lockdown. Answers to the question, “What makes you feel stressed?” changed from the first survey to the second.

In the first survey, answers typically involved school, crowds, worries about their appearance, bullying, and allergies. In the second survey, such worries were absent, and their answers primarily focused on COVID-19.

It is not all good news on the stress front, however, as the survey also revealed that the greatest reported increase in stress during the lockdown period came from worries about school.

Just over 40% of children said that they felt more stressed about their schoolwork and exams while schools were closed.