Although infection with SARS-CoV-2 appears to be less dangerous for children and adolescents, research indicates that the measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have had and continue to have negative effects on children’s and adolescents’ mental health and physical activity (PA). Due to the different health policies, country-specific studies as well as studies in different phases of the pandemic are important to obtain a differentiated picture of the effects of the pandemic. This study set out to investigate children’s and adolescents’ PA, stress, and well-being as well as the associations between these two variables during a phase of a gradual decline in measure to contain the pandemic in Germany. For this purpose, 1293 children and adolescents in a rural area of a federal state in Germany were investigated. The results indicated that children and adolescents felt sadder and less well during this period than children and adolescents before the pandemic. Results also revealed that they were more physically active than children and adolescents before the pandemic as well as in the second lockdown but less active than in the first lockdown. Both well-being and sadness were positively associated with the PA. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the situation of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health prevention and promotion are increasingly important in the school context. Beyond physical education, measures focused on physical activity (PA) are implemented to enhance students’ mental and physical health. The first aim of this study was to systematically describe two school-based health promotion measures that were based on the idea of active school concepts against the background of the German educational and health policies as well as the German school system. The second aim was to assess the process and implementation quality and potential outcomes of the measures and to identify factors that promote or hinder the implementation of the measures. Both measures were funded and supported by health insurance companies. The measure Fitness at School supported approximately 1195 schools in the last thirteen years by promoting PA-related projects at schools. In the measure Active School NRW, schools that best implement the concept of an active school were awarded. The results provide insights into the conditions that hinder and support the implementation of PA-based health promotion measures at schools and are discussed against the background of sustainable health promotion. Overall, the evaluation indicates that financial investments in health-prevention and -promotion measures in the school setting are beneficial.