Changes in Body Mass Index Among Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Susan J. Woolford, Margo A. Sidell, Xia Li, Veronica Else, Deborah Rohm Young, Ken Resnicow, Corinna Koebnick
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with weight gain among adults, 1 but little is known about the weight of US children and adolescents. To evaluate pandemic-related changes in weight in school-aged youths, we compared the body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) of youths aged 5 to 17 years during the pandemic in 2020 with BMI in the same period before the pandemic in 2019.
Topics & Concepts
MedicineCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)PandemicBody mass index2019-20 coronavirus outbreakSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Index (typography)BetacoronavirusCoronavirus InfectionsVirologyPediatricsOutbreakInternal medicineInfectious disease (medical specialty)DiseaseWorld Wide WebComputer scienceCOVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesClimate Change and Health ImpactsCOVID-19 and healthcare impacts