Impactos da pandemia do COVID-19 em indicadores de saúde de estudantes do ensino médio de Pelotas/RS

Abstract

With the return of face-to-face school activities, two years after the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, school directors and teachers need to plan based on information about the student's health. The study's objective was to compare the perception of body mass, health-related behaviors and mental health of adolescent schoolchildren during the period of return to presential school activities with the period before COVID-19 pandemic. The study was carried out with 425 students (16.96±1.39 years; 60.2% female) randomly selected from public and private schools in Pelotas/RS. For data collection, a self-completion questionnaire was used, containing retrospective and current questions about different health markers. The results indicated that there was an increase in body mass, a reduction in physical activity levels, a decrease in sleep time, and a worsening in mental health (the last one only for girls) (p<0.05) at the present time when compared to the period prior to the pandemic. On the other hand, unhealthy eating habits reduced and recreational screen time decreased, showing better results (p<0.05) in the current moment than in the period before the pandemic.These results show a complex panorama concerning the health of adolescents in the period of resumption of presential activities, making this return a challenge for the adolescents themselves, their families, teachers and for schools. Therefore, the data found become extremely relevant and may help in the creation of strategies and public policies. Still, for teachers, especially Physical Education teachers, the results found can help to understand better the impacts of the pandemic on different adolescent school health markers. Such results contribute to the professional training and pedagogical practice of teachers, assisting in their planning during the school period in order to provide improvements in the physical and mental health of students.