Active Healthy Kids Scotland COVID-19 Report Card

Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Cards are evidence-based national reports on physical activity and health in Scottish children and adolescents (Bardid et al., 2022; Hughes et al., 2018; Reilly et al., 2014, 2016; Tomaz et al., 2024). The report cards use a standardised methodology to summarise evidence and produce grades for 11 key indicators. These include important health behaviours (overall physical activity, organised sport and physical activity, active play, sedentary behaviour, active transportation, diet) and health outcomes (obesity, physical fitness), as well as key sources of influences on health behaviours and outcomes (family and peers, community and environment, government and policy).

Active Healthy Kids Scotland embodies the principle of ‘better data for better health,’ highlighting its commitment to improving child health through robust data insights. We therefore monitor physical activity and health among children and adolescents in Scotland using national public health surveillance data. By doing so, we strive to not only support evidence-informed policy and practice for better health, but also to highlight gaps in surveillance and monitoring and formulate recommendations for better data.

The report cards are compiled by a working group of experts in child physical activity, sedentary behaviour, physical fitness, diet, obesity, and policy from several Scottish universities. These report cards are part of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance, an international network that has been producing report cards for over 10 years, spanning more than 70 countries and regions (Morrison et al., 2024). The report cards serve as valuable tools for knowledge exchange while also contributing to research.

Over the past decade, we have published four report cards, each focusing on a specific theme: screen time (2013), active play (2016), obesity (2018), and socioeconomic inequality (2021). This latest report card focuses on the impact of COVID-19. Whilst previous research has shown that COVID-19 lockdowns and school closures have had substantial harmful impacts on physical activity and health among children and adolescents globally (Aubert et al., 2022; Chang et al., 2021; Madigan et al., 2022; Neville et al., 2022; Walker et al., 2023), it is unclear how the pandemic has impacted physical activity and health in children and adolescents in Scotland. This card not only reports on changes in the indicators pre- and post-COVID-19 but also changes in inequalities—specifically socioeconomic status and gender—and the policy response to the pandemic.