{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T06:19:30Z","timestamp":1783491570387,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Social distancing and reduced physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic may have adversely affected children's physical fitness and visual health. This study compared physical fitness indicators and the prevalence of suspected myopia among Chinese children aged 6\u201311 years in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic) using cross-sectional school screening data.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Data were collected in 2019 (\n                      <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 1,183) and 2020 (\n                      <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 1,120), and analyzes complete cases for each outcome (maximum\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 1,069 and\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 1,116, respectively). Physical fitness outcomes included body mass index (BMI), flexibility, and athletic performance. Visual acuity (unaided distance) was used to define suspected myopia as visual acuity &amp;lt; 5.0 (Chinese standard logarithmic chart) in either eye. Year differences were evaluated using regression models adjusted for age and sex with class-level cluster-robust standard errors. Prevalence ratios for suspected myopia were estimated using modified Poisson regression, and multiple tests were controlled using the Benjamini\u2013Hochberg false discovery rate.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>During the pandemic period, BMI increased among children aged 6\u20138 years. Flexibility declined among 6-year-olds and girls aged 7 years. Rope-jumping performance improved in most age groups, except for boys aged 6 and 10 years, while no statistically significant changes were observed in 50 m sprint performance across age groups. The prevalence of suspected myopia increased significantly in 2020 compared with 2019, with age- and sex-specific differences, including higher risks among girls aged 7 and 11 years and boys aged 10 years.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions\u2014particularly for younger children\u2014to mitigate the potential impacts of the pandemic on weight management, physical fitness, and visual health, considering age- and sex-specific differences.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1810566","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T05:59:04Z","timestamp":1783490344000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dual trends in physical fitness and suspected 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