Age- and weight group-specific weight gain patterns in children and adolescents during the 15 years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background/Objectives There is a concern that measures aiming to limit a further spread of COVID-19, e.g., school closures and social distancing, cause an aggravation of the childhood obesity epidemic. Therefore, we compared BMI trends during the 15 years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subjects/Methods To assess the change in weight dynamics during the first months of COVID-19, we compared the trends of 3-month change in BMI-SDS (ΔBMI-SDS) and the proportions of children showing a high positive (HPC) or high negative (HNC) weight change between 2005 and 2019 and the respective changes from 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 2020 (after the onset of anti-pandemic measures) in more than 150,000 children (9689 during the pandemic period). The period of 3 months corresponds approximately to the first lockdown period in Germany. Results During the COVID-19 pandemic, we found a substantial weight gain across all weight and age groups, reflected by an increase in the 3-month change in BMI-SDS (β = 0.05, p < 0.001), an increase in the proportion of children showing HPC (OR = 1.4, p < 0.001), and a decrease in the proportion of children showing HNC (OR = 0.7, p < 0.001). Besides, we found the same trends since 2005 on a low but stable level with a yearly increase of ΔBMI-SDS by β = 0.001 (p < 0.001), the odds of HPC increased by ORhigh_pos = 1.01 (p < 0.001), and the odds of HNC decreased by ORhigh_neg = 0.99 (p < 0.001). These rather small effects accumulated to β = 0.02, ORhigh_pos = 1.14, and ORhigh_pos = 0.85 over the whole period 2005–2019. Alarmingly, both the long-term and the short-term effects were most pronounced in the obese subgroup. Conclusions There are positive dynamics in different measures of weight change, indicating a positive trend in weight gain patterns, especially within the group of children with obesity. These dynamics are likely to be escalated by COVID-19-related measures. Thus, they may lead to a significant further aggravation of the childhood obesity pandemic.

Comparison of Physical Fitness Profiles Obtained before and during COVID-19 Pandemic in Two Independent Large Samples of Children and Adolescents: DAFIS Project

“…Specifically, 28.9% of boys were over the cut point prepandemic, and this value increased to 34.6% in pandemic, whereas girls presented similar values prepandemic (25.8%) and during the pandemic (27.2%) ( Figure 6 ). COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent restriction have had a relevant effect on habits [ 36 , 37 ] and physical activity levels [ 28 , 38 ], influencing the weight gain and adiposity increases detected in this population during pandemic [ 25 , 36 , 39 ]. Although it has been reported that upon return to school after lockdown, levels of physical activity increased in both sexes but especially in boys [ 38 ], our data would suggest that this increase in physical activity would not be sufficient to fully counteract the effect of some sedentary habits on the body composition of the male school population.…”

Gewichtszunahme bei Kindern und Jugendlichen während der Covid-19-Pandemie

“…ausgeführt [23]. Eine genauere Darstellung der statistischen Methoden ist in der Originalpublikation zu finden [24]. Während der Pandemie war der stärkste Anstieg der Gewichtszunahme bei jüngeren Kindern zu verzeichnen, während bei Jugendlichen die Adipositas vor der Pandemie am ausgeprägtesten war.…”

Amino Acid-Related Metabolic Signature in Obese Children and Adolescents

“…Moreover, numerous reports have suggested that unhealthy weight gain frequently occurred during the lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic [ 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Several authors have speculated that, compared with the pre-pandemic period, both BMI-z-scores, and childhood obesity prevalence under COVID-19 would rise, and the magnitude of the increase would be proportional to the length and severity of the pandemic [ 38 , 39 ]. Recently, Vogel et al compared the trends of BMI changes and the proportions of high positive (HPC)/negative weight changes (HNC) from 2005 to 2019 with the respective changes from 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 2020 (after the onset of anti-pandemic measures) in a large pediatric cohort in Germany.…”

“…Thus, in this recent study reported data have significantly supported the dramatic effects of pandemic on the still-growing problem of childhood obesity. In fact, these effects increased by more than 30 times within a relatively short period, suggesting that changes in health-related behavior lead to a significant further aggravation of the childhood obesity pandemic [ 39 ]. Moreover, Shlomit et al, in a retrospective cohort study, analyzed changes in BMI among a large Israel population of children, adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel.…”