Emily A Knapp1, Yanan Dong1, Anne L Dunlop2, Judy L Aschner3, Joseph B Stanford4, Tina Hartert5, Susan L Teitelbaum6, Mark L Hudak7, Kecia Carroll6, Thomas G O'Connor8, Cindy T McEvoy9, T Michael O'Shea10, Susan Carnell11, Margaret R Karagas12, Julie B Herbstman13, Dana Dabelea14, Jody M Ganiban15, Assiamira Ferrara16, Monique Hedderson16, Traci A Bekelman14, Andrew G Rundle13, Akram Alshawabkeh17, Diane Gilbert-Diamond12, Rebecca C Fry10, Zhanghua Chen18, Frank D Gilliland18, Rosalind J Wright6, Carlos A Camargo19, Lisa Jacobson1, Barry M Lester20, Christine W Hockett21, Marie L Hodges1, Aruna Chandran1. 1. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. 2. Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. 3. Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. 4. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. 5. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. 6. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York. 7. University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida. 8. University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York. 9. Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon. 10. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 11. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. 12. Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire. 13. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York. 14. Colorado School of Public Heath, Aurora, Colorado. 15. The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia. 16. Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland, California. 17. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. 18. University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California. 19. Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 20. Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. 21. Avera Research Institute; University of South Dakota School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Experts hypothesized increased weight gain in children associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Our objective was to evaluate whether the rate of change of child body mass index (BMI) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with prepandemic years. METHODS: The study population of 1996 children ages 2 to 19 years with at least 1 BMI measure before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was drawn from 38 pediatric cohorts across the United States participating in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes-wide cohort study. We modeled change in BMI using linear mixed models, adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, maternal education, income, baseline BMI category, and type of BMI measure. Data collection and analysis were approved by the local institutional review board of each institution or by the central Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes institutional review board. RESULTS: BMI increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with previous years (0.24 higher annual gain in BMI during the pandemic compared with previous years, 95% confidence interval 0.02 to 0.45). Children with BMI in the obese range compared with the healthy weight range were at higher risk for excess BMI gain during the pandemic, whereas children in higher-income households were at decreased risk of BMI gain. CONCLUSIONS: One effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is an increase in annual BMI gain during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the 3 previous years among children in our national cohort. This increased risk among US children may worsen a critical threat to public health and health equity.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Experts hypothesized increased weight gain in children associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Our objective was to evaluate whether the rate of change of child body mass index (BMI) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with prepandemic years. METHODS: The study population of 1996 children ages 2 to 19 years with at least 1 BMI measure before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was drawn from 38 pediatric cohorts across the United States participating in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes-wide cohort study. We modeled change in BMI using linear mixed models, adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, maternal education, income, baseline BMI category, and type of BMI measure. Data collection and analysis were approved by the local institutional review board of each institution or by the central Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes institutional review board. RESULTS: BMI increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with previous years (0.24 higher annual gain in BMI during the pandemic compared with previous years, 95% confidence interval 0.02 to 0.45). Children with BMI in the obese range compared with the healthy weight range were at higher risk for excess BMI gain during the pandemic, whereas children in higher-income households were at decreased risk of BMI gain. CONCLUSIONS: One effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is an increase in annual BMI gain during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the 3 previous years among children in our national cohort. This increased risk among US children may worsen a critical threat to public health and health equity.
Authors: Stephen R Daniels; Donna K Arnett; Robert H Eckel; Samuel S Gidding; Laura L Hayman; Shiriki Kumanyika; Thomas N Robinson; Barbara J Scott; Sachiko St Jeor; Christine L Williams Journal: Circulation Date: 2005-04-19 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Keith Brazendale; Michael W Beets; R Glenn Weaver; Russell R Pate; Gabrielle M Turner-McGrievy; Andrew T Kaczynski; Jessica L Chandler; Amy Bohnert; Paul T von Hippel Journal: Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act Date: 2017-07-26 Impact factor: 6.457