Physical fitness changes among school-aged children during the COVID-19 lockdown evaluated within the Hungarian National Student Fitness Test cohort

TL;DR

This study found that the physical fitness of Hungarian schoolchildren declined during the first year of the pandemic, likely due to reduced activity and more sedentary behavior.

Contribution

The study provides a large-scale, longitudinal analysis of pandemic-related changes in children's physical fitness using a national fitness testing program.

Findings

BMI, body fat, cardiorespiratory fitness, and flexibility declined during the pandemic.

School-level factors significantly influenced variations in students' physical fitness outcomes.

Some musculoskeletal measures like handgrip strength and standing broad jump improved during the pandemic.

Abstract

This cohort-based analysis aims to compare the health-related physical fitness levels of Hungarian youth before and one year after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also aimed to analyze the impact of the school environment on students’ physical fitness. A cohort study was conducted to evaluate various physical fitness components, including body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BF%), cardiorespiratory fitness, musculoskeletal fitness, and flexibility, measured via the Hungarian National Student Fitness Test (NETFIT®). The analysis included 285,465 students across the pre-pandemic (2018/2019) and post-pandemic (2021/2022) academic years. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to quantify differences. The findings indicated a decline in BMI, BF%, cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, and musculoskeletal fitness measured with push-up and curl-up tests. However, standing broad jump, trunk-lift, and handgrip strength increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, significant variations in students’ physical fitness across schools suggest that school-level factors play a crucial role in shaping students’ physical performance. This study highlights a general decline in adolescents’ physical fitness, likely linked to reduced physical activity due to COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions, which contributed to increased sedentary behavior and fewer outdoor activities. The extent of these changes varied across schools.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-41055-8.

Figures