Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to special circumstances and changes to everyday life due to the worldwide measures that were imposed such as lockdowns. This review aims to evaluate obesity in children, adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A literature search was conducted to evaluate pertinent studies up to 10 November 2020. Results: A total of 15 articles were eligible; 9 identified 17,028,111 children, adolescents and young adults from 5–25 years old, 5 pertained to studies with an age admixture (n = 20,521) and one study included parents with children 5–18 years old (n = 584). During the COVID-19 era, children, adolescents and young adults gained weight. Changes in dietary behaviors, increased food intake and unhealthy food choices including potatoes, meat and sugary drinks were noted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Food insecurity associated with financial reasons represents another concern. Moreover, as the restrictions imposed reduced movements out of the house, physical activity was limited, representing another risk factor for weight gain. Conclusions: COVID-19 restrictions disrupted the everyday routine of children, adolescents and young adults and elicited changes in their eating behaviors and physical activity. To protect them, health care providers should highlight the risk of obesity and provide prevention strategies, ensuring also parental participation. Worldwide policies, guidelines and precautionary measures should ideally be established.

Pediatric BMI changes during COVID-19 pandemic: An electronic health record-based retrospective cohort study

“…The results of this study showed an increase in the rate of unhealthy weight gain during the pandemic compared to the rate before the pandemic. This is likely, in part or in whole, a result of the pandemicrelated lifestyle changes reported in previous literature [17] (including decreased physical activity [ 18 , 19 ], changes in diet composition [20] , and increased indoor sedentary behaviors [19] ). The findings are consistent in direction to predictions made by a simulation study [21] .…”

Family Food Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

“…While these decreases in snacking may be observed, excess weight gain will likely still need to be addressed. A recent review of 15 studies on obesity in children during the pandemic found support for an increase in child weight, which was associated with changes in eating habits and limited physical activity [ 35 ]. For parents, who may find themselves in work situations that combine office and remote work, changing snacking behaviors may be more challenging.…”

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on body mass index in young adults

“…The results of our research, with 33 % overweight and obese students, are on the same ascending trajectory as the results reported by the above studies. Due to the amplitude of the phenomenon a new term 'covibesity' has appeared to synthesize the increment in obesity rates due to restriction imposed during the pandemic [14].…”