Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Sports Motor Performance and the Body Mass Index (Bmi) of 2 nd Grade Primary School Children in Germany

During the Covid-19 pandemic, there were major cuts and changes in exercise habits with measures such as the closure of sports facilities and the cancellation of face-to-face teaching. Due to the possibility of long-term consequences of these measures for children in Germany, a trend study was carried out using panel survey data from 2019 and 2022 to determine possible changes in sports motor fitness and BMI. The data was collected using questionnaires and the motor test instrument "CHECK!". This includes data from 2 437 second-grade primary school students from all 26 primary schools in a large city. The mean values of the items from the sports motor test were checked using the t-test for independent samples. In addition, based on the school social index, unequal school locations were compared in subgroups in an exploratory manner. The results show that aerobic endurance, measured with a 6-minute run, decreased across the board. Strength results improved compared to the pre-pandemic group. The results for speed, flexibility and coordination showed no significant changes. With regard to socioeconomic differences, a deterioration in the BMI of the subgroup of weak socioeconomic school locations is recognized in 2022. This subgroup scored worse in almost all test items of sports motor performance in both 2019 and 2022. There is general evidence that only aerobic endurance had deteriorated before the pandemic. In 2022, the socio-economic school location increasingly shows signs of deterioration in sports motor performance and BMI and should be taken into account in future support measures.