Unfavorable progression of obesity in children and adolescents due to COVID-19 pandemic: A school-based survey in China

Hu, Jia; Liu, Jieyu; Wang, Jiaxiang; Shen, Mingzhu; Ge, Wenxin; Shen, Hui; Zhang, Tian; Yang, Haibing; Yin, Jieyun

OBJECTIVE: The Chinese government decisively imposed nationwide confinement in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the progression of obesity in children and adolescents in Changshu, China. METHODS: Based on the Health Promotion Program for Children and Adolescents (HPPCA), which is a prospective cross-sectional and school-based study, BMI assessed in seven consecutive years (2014 to 2020) among children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years in Changshu city was extracted. The standardized BMI z scores (zBMI) and prevalence of obesity between 2020 (after COVID-19 home confinement) and the previous 6 years were compared among age-specific subgroups and between sexes. RESULTS: The mean number of participants per year was 29,648. The overall mean zBMI drastically increased from 0.29 in 2019 to 0.45 in 2020, resulting in a rise of 0.16 (95% CI: 0.14-0.18); the prevalence of obesity substantially elevated to 12.77% in 2020 (versus 10.38% in 2017), with an acceleration of 2.39% (95% CI: 1.88%-2.90%). Of note, these increases were more likely to be observed in boys and those 6 to 11 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to exacerbate the obesity epidemic among pediatric populations in Changshu, China.