Abstract
Covid-19 restrictions impacted many people’s daily lives through infection, fear of infection and restrictions on movement. This re-issue of a questionnaire sought to examine the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on frequency of physical activity, participation in sports, wellbeing and symptoms of anxiety and depression in Irish adolescents. 3,021 adolescents from 61 post-primary schools in the Republic of Ireland completed questionnaires. Consistent with findings from a previous issue of the questionnaire, conducted pre-Covid-19, a minority of adolescents were found to meet the WHO’s physical activity guidelines (11.6% of males and 5.2% of females) although there were large decreases in 1st year males and females. Adolescents reporting elevated symptoms of depression increased from 39% to 46% with almost 3 in 5 females reporting symptoms of depression ranging from mild to extreme. Highest levels of wellbeing were found in adolescents who participated in 3 or more sports, although there was an 8% reduction in the amount of adolescents participating in 3 or more sports. There were no changes in physical activity levels overall, despite changes within sub-groups and patterns of physical activity. There was a clear increase in symptoms of depression, with females impacted more than males. Previously active individuals were more likely to increase activity and therefore report higher levels of mental health while those who were less active were more likely to decrease activity and report lower mental health. Future interventions should seek to target adolescents currently inactive or with low levels of activity as they are most at risk of further reductions and the associated negative health implications.