Suffering. Obesity, poor eyesight and psychological problems: the corona pandemic and its effects hit children and adolescents particularly hard. Local psychologists currently receive around 20 percent more inquiries about symptoms of anxiety and depression on average. “Young people are more likely to suffer from hopelessness about the future. Primary school pupils, on the other hand, are more restless and irritable because of the changes, ”explains the Tyrolean high school teacher and child and youth psychologist Johannes Achammer. According to a study by the University of Salzburg, around 79 percent of 531 primary school students surveyed are worse off than before the pandemic. One of the greatest fears is that life like it was before the pandemic will never be again.
Teenagers sit in front of a screen for up to 7 hours
-
+1.7 kg weight. The new everyday life also has an impact on children’s eating habits. According to the Eddy-Young prevention project in Vienna, children will weigh around 1.7 kg more in 2020 than in the year before the pandemic. 155 children between the ages of eight and ten were involved in the study.
-
Seven hours in front of the screen. Also worrying is the amount of time students spend in front of the screen every day. According to Kurt Widhalm, who heads the study, it is seven hours for over 50 percent of 14 to 18 year olds. This behavior in turn affects the child’s weight and eyesight.
-
0.3 diopters worse. A study of 123,000 school children in China has shown that myopia in the six to eight year olds worsened by 0.3 diopters in the last year.
“Eating disorders, too little sport, too much in front of the computer”
An interview with pediatrician Widhalm.
AUSTRIA: Professor, what effects is the pandemic having on our children?
Kurt Widhalm: The pandemic harms children in many ways. Psychologically too, of course. More eating disorders are emerging – from weight gain to anorexia. Children do too little sport and sit in front of the computer for too many hours.
AUSTRIA: The students in their study weigh around 1.7 kg more than in comparison to the increase before the pandemic … What could be the cause of this?
Widhalm: The causes for this can be of different nature. On the one hand, children are generally less physically active because there is currently no more school or recreational sports. With distance learning, you have constant access to groceries at home and sit for hours in front of the computer or mobile phone. Of course, this is also a problem.
AUSTRIA: Screen time is seven hours a day, according to an Eddy survey.
Widhalm: With over 50 percent of 14 to 18 year olds, the screen time is already over seven hours. Of course, this is due, among other things, to distance learning.
AUSTRIA: What should be improved?
Widhalm: Diet, exercise and lifestyle play an important role. We have long been fighting for a kind of lifestyle lesson that should show children how important exercise, sleep, social contacts and sport are for their future lives.
(mko)
–
