Analysis of selected aspects of movement and health of preschool children during the epidemic

V diplomskem delu smo analizirali vidike zdravja in gibanja predšolskih otrok v času pred, med in po ukrepih za zajezitev širjenja koronavirusa (SARS-CoV-2). V raziskavi je sodelovalo 195 staršev iz Ljubljane, Vrhnike, Brezovice, Horjula in njihovih okolic. V raziskavi so bili vključeni le starši otrok, starih 2–6 let. Zanimalo nas je kako pogosto so se otroci gibali v urbanem okolju in naravnem okolji ter ali je posamezno obdobje epidemije kaj vplivalo na pogostost gibanja in čas preživetega časa na prostem. Primerjali smo pogostost gibanja otrok na prostem pred epidemijo in med epidemijam ter primerjali z drugimi tujimi študijami. Poleg tega nas je zanimalo kako pogosto so otroci v času posameznega vala epidemije uživali sadje in zelenjavo, ali so pogosteje posegali po sadju ali zelenjavi. Zanimalo nas je tudi ali so imeli otroci časovno ustaljene obroke, tako kot so jih imeli v času odprtja vrtcev. Vse podatke smo pridobili julija 2021 preko spletne ankete, ki smo jo poslali staršem preko različnih socialnih omrežji. Nato smo pridobljene podatke analizirali v programu Microsoft Excel. Analiza je potekala v štirih fazah, in sicer najprej smo pridobljene podatke številčno obdelali, jih zapisali in razvrstili v različne tabele glede na urbano ali naravno okolje, na pogostost in čas gibanja med tednom in med vikendom, pogostost uživanja sadja in zelenjave v posameznem obdobju in na število obrokov v enem dnevu. Nato smo v drugi fazi izračunali odstotke in tako pri spremenljivkah videli bolj jasne razlike. V tretji fazi smo spremenljivke zapisali v obliki grafov. V zadnji fazi smo vse naše ugotovitve pisno obrazložili, povezali z literaturo in drugimi tujimi raziskavami. Z raziskavo smo ugotovili, da so se otroci najredkeje gibali tako v urbanem okolju na prostem kot tudi v naravnem okolju na prostem v 1. valu epidemije, in sicer v tem obdobju se je pogostost gibanja v urbanem okolju zmanjšala za 23.5 % in v naravnem okolju za 4.5 %. Otroci so pogosteje posegali po sadju kot zelenjavi, in sicer v času epidemij je dnevno uživalo sadje 74 % otrok in zelenjavo 58 % otrok. Največ staršev (47 %) je v času zaprtja vrtcev otrokom nudilo enako število obrokov, kot pred COVID-19, ko so otroci obiskovali vrtce, in sicer 3 glavne obroke in 2 malici. Te obroke pa je imelo največ otrok, in sicer 50 %, prilagojene glede na dnevno situacijo. Rezultati so pokazali, da so se ljudje skozi različne vale epidemije navadili na nov način življenja in se hkrati seznanili o pomembnosti gibanja na prostem, saj je pogostost gibanja na prostem po 1. valu epidemije ponovno naraščala.In the present thesis, we analysed aspects of health and physical activity in preschool children before, during and after interventions to contain the spread of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). 195 parents from Ljubljana, Vrhnika, Brezovica, Horjul and their surroundings took part in the survey. Only parents of children aged 2–6 years were included in the survey. We were interested in the frequency of children\u27s physical activity in the urban and natural environments, and whether certain epidemic periods had an impact on the frequency of physical activity and time spent outdoors. We compared the frequency of children\u27s outdoor activity before and during the epidemic and compared it with other foreign studies. In addition, we wanted to know how often children consumed fruit and vegetables during each wave of the epidemic and whether they were more likely to reach for fruit or vegetables than before. We also wanted to know whether children had regular mealtimes, as they did when in kindergarten. All data were collected in July 2021 through an online survey sent to parents via various social networks. The data were then analysed in Microsoft Excel. The analysis was carried out in four phases. First, the data were quantified, recorded and tabulated according to the urban or natural environment, according to the frequency and time of physical activity during the week and at the weekend, and according to the frequency of fruit and vegetables consumption over a period of time and the number of meals per day. Then we calculated the percentages to see clearer differences in the variables. In the third step, the variables were plotted in graph from. In the final stage, we explained all our findings in writing and linked them to the literature and other international research. The study found that children\u27s physical activity in both outdoor urban and outdoor natural environments was the lowest during the first wave of the epidemic, with a 23.5 % decrease in urban and a 4.5 % decrease in natural environment during this period. Children were more likely to eat fruit than vegetables, with 74 % of children eating fruit and 58 % eating vegetables daily during the epidemic. Most parents (47 %) provided the same number of meals for their children during lockdown as before COVID-19, when children were in kindergartens, namely 3 main meals and 2 snacks. However, most children (50 %), had these meals adapted to their daily situation. The results showed that people got accustomed to a new lifestyle during the different waves of the epidemic, but became aware of the importance of children\u27s outdoor physical activity as the frequency of outdoor physical activity increased again after the first wave of the epidemic