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COVID-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients
INTRODUCTION: Childhood obesity has become an important topic, not only of increasing relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic but specifically enhanced by it. Restrictions implemented to mitigate further outbreaks led to major constraints on daily physical activity, leading to a severe increase in bo...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10628554/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37942242 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1260269 |
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author | Irschik, Stefan Brandt, Jennifer B. Eisenkölbl, Johannes |
author_facet | Irschik, Stefan Brandt, Jennifer B. Eisenkölbl, Johannes |
author_sort | Irschik, Stefan |
collection | PubMed |
description | INTRODUCTION: Childhood obesity has become an important topic, not only of increasing relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic but specifically enhanced by it. Restrictions implemented to mitigate further outbreaks led to major constraints on daily physical activity, leading to a severe increase in body weight among children. This study highlights changes in BMI and weight development in children during and (in particular) after the COVID-19 restrictions in Austria, focusing on various socioeconomic factors. METHODS: Weight development throughout the pandemic and socioeconomic factors were evaluated by anonymous cross-sectional surveys filled out by parents at a pediatric practice. RESULTS: This study included 388 children. The rate of obesity increased by 88.5%, from 6.4 to 12.1%, throughout the pandemic, reaching a maximum of 15.2% during the restrictions. Overall, age-adapted BMI z-scores increased significantly by 0.22 during the restrictions and remained increased by 0.19 compared to pre-pandemic levels. With the exception of obese children, all children in the study population experienced significant weight loss after the restrictions were lifted. Obese children continued to gain weight without any sign of the onset of normalization. Socioeconomic factors, such as participation in regular activity in the form of organized sport or the availability of an outdoor area, were associated with relevant differences before the pandemic but had no protective effect against intra-pandemic weight gain. A higher level of parental education was the only factor associated with less weight gain in children during the early phase of the pandemic. DISCUSSION: Austrian COVID-19 restrictions have had concerning effects on pediatric BMI, with very little effect of socioeconomic background. After restrictions were loosened, measurable weight loss occurred, but the significant increase in children's BMI percentiles persisted. No weight loss was observed among children who were obese prior to the pandemic. There is a need for broad projects tackling childhood obesity, as obese children are the most vulnerable group with the strongest and most severe long-term effects. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10628554 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-106285542023-11-08 COVID-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients Irschik, Stefan Brandt, Jennifer B. Eisenkölbl, Johannes Front Public Health Public Health INTRODUCTION: Childhood obesity has become an important topic, not only of increasing relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic but specifically enhanced by it. Restrictions implemented to mitigate further outbreaks led to major constraints on daily physical activity, leading to a severe increase in body weight among children. This study highlights changes in BMI and weight development in children during and (in particular) after the COVID-19 restrictions in Austria, focusing on various socioeconomic factors. METHODS: Weight development throughout the pandemic and socioeconomic factors were evaluated by anonymous cross-sectional surveys filled out by parents at a pediatric practice. RESULTS: This study included 388 children. The rate of obesity increased by 88.5%, from 6.4 to 12.1%, throughout the pandemic, reaching a maximum of 15.2% during the restrictions. Overall, age-adapted BMI z-scores increased significantly by 0.22 during the restrictions and remained increased by 0.19 compared to pre-pandemic levels. With the exception of obese children, all children in the study population experienced significant weight loss after the restrictions were lifted. Obese children continued to gain weight without any sign of the onset of normalization. Socioeconomic factors, such as participation in regular activity in the form of organized sport or the availability of an outdoor area, were associated with relevant differences before the pandemic but had no protective effect against intra-pandemic weight gain. A higher level of parental education was the only factor associated with less weight gain in children during the early phase of the pandemic. DISCUSSION: Austrian COVID-19 restrictions have had concerning effects on pediatric BMI, with very little effect of socioeconomic background. After restrictions were loosened, measurable weight loss occurred, but the significant increase in children's BMI percentiles persisted. No weight loss was observed among children who were obese prior to the pandemic. There is a need for broad projects tackling childhood obesity, as obese children are the most vulnerable group with the strongest and most severe long-term effects. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-10-24 /pmc/articles/PMC10628554/ /pubmed/37942242 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1260269 Text en Copyright © 2023 Irschik, Brandt and Eisenkölbl. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Public Health Irschik, Stefan Brandt, Jennifer B. Eisenkölbl, Johannes COVID-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients |
title | COVID-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients |
title_full | COVID-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients |
title_fullStr | COVID-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients |
title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients |
title_short | COVID-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients |
title_sort | covid-19 pandemic-related weight gain in the pediatric population declined after restrictions ended, except among obese patients |
topic | Public Health |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10628554/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37942242 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1260269 |
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