In response to concerning findings from various studies highlighting reduced exercise, increased screen time, heightened psychological stress, and declining physical fitness among children and adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic, a consortium led by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has initiated the COMO study. This study aims to assess whether these adverse effects persist and focuses on the physical and mental health of young individuals in Germany. The project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with approximately EUR 1.8 million, will rely exclusively on digital data collection.
Collaborating with the University Hospital of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Karlsruhe University of Education, the University of Konstanz, and the University of Bochum, KIT coordinates the COMO study to understand the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children and adolescents. Professor Alexander Woll from the KIT Institute of Sports and Sports Science (IfSS), who leads the COMO study, emphasizes that even before the pandemic, many youths in Germany engaged in less physical activity than recommended by the World Health Organization. He notes that physical activity further decreased during and after the second lockdown, while leisure screen time increased.
Dr. Claudia Niessner, head of a junior research group at IfSS and coordinator of the consortium along with Professor Woll, anticipates ongoing pandemic repercussions, emphasizing the need to derive measures supporting the health and development of children and adolescents. Initial results from the COMO study are expected in early summer 2024.
Building on the Motor-Module long-term study (MoMo) initiated in 2003 and the COPSY study by the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), the researchers aim to provide comprehensive insights by comparing COMO data with these earlier studies.
In a pioneering move, the COMO study leverages digitalization in pediatric research, conducting interviews and motoric tests online. This ensures timely availability of health-relevant data for informed policy decisions. Children and adolescents aged 4 to 17, along with their parents, will participate in online interviews, while digital fitness tests, directed by V. Professor Anke Hanssen-Doose from Karlsruhe University of Education, will be conducted through video meetings.
The COMO study combines expertise in sports science, psychosocial medicine, and empirical social research. KIT contributes expertise on physical activity and health, UKE focuses on mental health, and Karlsruhe University of Education specializes in physical fitness and constitution. The University of Konstanz studies environmental impacts and social inequalities, while Ruhr-Universität Bochum analyzes how everyday thoughts and feelings affect behavior.
Selected in a competitive process from nearly 500 proposals, the COMO study, under the funding line “Gesellschaftliche Auswirkungen der Corona-Pandemie − Forschung für Integration, Teilhabe und Erneuerung” (social impacts of the pandemic – research for integration, participation, and renewal), will receive approximately EUR 2 million from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research over a three-year period.