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AUTHOR(S) Kyungchul Song; Se Yong Jung; Juyeon Yang (et al.)
AUTHOR(S) María Ángeles Azrak; María Victoria Fasano; Ana Julia Avico (et al.)
Further investigation is needed to define the impact of long-term pandemic lockdown in children. This study aims to examine changes in body mass index z-score (zBMI), lifestyle, Health-Related Quality of Life and proportion of overweight or obesity (OW/OB) in 6- to 9-year-old children in Argentina. Observational study with baseline measurements prior to lockdown and follow-up after eight months of strict restrictive measures (November 2020, first visit, n = 144) and after ten months of partial reopening (September 2021, second visit, n = 108). Anthropometric changes from baseline to first visit in lockdown group (LG) were compared with a historical control group (HCG, n = 134). Follow-up visits included anthropometric measures, lifestyle questionnaire and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory.
AUTHOR(S) Xiang Long; Xing‑Ying Li; Hong Jiang (et al.)
Knowledge on the impact of the temporary kindergarten closure policy under COVID-19 in 2020 on childhood overweight and obesity is inadequate. We aimed to examine differences in rates of overweight and obesity from 2018 to 2021 among kindergarten children aged 3–7 years. Overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) > 1 standard deviation (SD) for age and sex, and obesity was defined as BMI > 2 SD for age and sex. Generalized linear mixed modeling was used for analysis.
AUTHOR(S) Julia M. Göldel; Clemens Kamrath; Kirsten Minden (et al.)
AUTHOR(S) P. Kutac; V. Bunc; M. Sigmund (et al.)
The lockdown measures related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) impacted the health of adolescents by reducing physical activity (PA). The physical changes in response to decreases in PA can be measured with full body composition analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of long-term PA restrictions on body fat (BF), fat-free mass (FFM) and skeletal muscle mass (SMM) in adolescents. A total of 1669 boys (before PA restriction (G1): 998; after PA restrictions ended (G2): 671; between the ages of 11 and 18 were included. The measured parameters were body mass (BM), visceral fat area (VFA), BF, FFM and SMM. The whole-body composition was evaluated using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).
AUTHOR(S) Anna Fäldt; Sahar Nejat; Sofia Edvinsson Sollander (et al.)
The COVID-19 pandemic has had wide effects on child health globally. Increased prevalence of childhood obesity has been observed by a number of countries during the pandemic. The absence of a formal societal lockdown during the pandemic, made Sweden stand out compared to other countries. This study aims to examine changes in BMI among preschool children in Sweden before and during COVID-19 pandemic. Retrospective population-based cross-sectional study, with longitudinal follow-up for a portion of the children. The study included 25 049 children from three Swedish regions, with growth measures at 3- (n = 16 237), 4- (n = 14 437) and 5-years of age (n = 11 711). Care Need Index was used as a socioeconomic parameter at health centre level.
AUTHOR(S) Merina Varghese; Adelyn Sherrard; Michael Vang (et al.)
AUTHOR(S) Khlood Baghlaf; Dania Bormah; Anwar Hakami (et al.)
AUTHOR(S) Samantha Lange Pierce; Lyudmyla Kompaniyets; David S. Freedman (et al.)
Many U.S. youth experienced accelerated weight gain during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Using an ambulatory electronic health record dataset, this study compared children's rates of BMI change in three periods: prepandemic (January 2018-February 2020), early pandemic (March-December 2020), and later pandemic (January-November 2021). It used mixed-effects models to examine differences in rates of change in BMI, weight, and obesity prevalence among the three periods. Covariates included time as a continuous variable; a variable indicating in which period each BMI was taken; sex; age; and initial BMI category.
AUTHOR(S) Corinna Koebnick; Margo A. Sidell; Xia Li (et al.)
This study evaluates whether changes in weight among school-aged youth in California due to the COVID-19 lockdown vary by social constructs of race/ethnicity and associated social factors. Including 160,472 youth ages 5-17 years enrolled at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, mixed effects models stratified by age group were fitted to estimate changes in distance from the median body mass index (BMI)-for-age from 3/2020 to 1/2021 (lockdown) compared to the same period prepandemic.
AUTHOR(S) Maria Rosaria Juli; Rebecca Juli; Giada Juli (et al.)
According to data released by the Ministry of Health in 2021 in Italy about three million young people suffer from eating disorders with onset before the age of 13 and the number tends to be increasing. This work aims to understand if and to what extent the areas of family functioning are related to the way of eating of adolescents in the period of restriction due to COVID-19. In particular, which dimensions of family functioning can be correlated with dysfunctional eating habits. The group that took part in the study was composed of 154 non clinical subjects, of which 124 females, 27 males and 3 non-binary gender subjects. The tests used were the McMaster Family Assessment Device and the Binge Eating Scale, in addition a personal data sheet was used containing the details of the subjects who participated anonymously, recruited at the university of Italy. The data have some limitations, first of all the low number of the sample and the online modality in compiling the tests.
AUTHOR(S) Naohisa Shobako
AUTHOR(S) Asiyeh Rezaei Niyasar; Alireza Moradi; Narges Radman (et al.)
Studies have shown that obesity is associated with decreased executive function. Impaired executive functions lead to poor self-regulation, which in turn may result in persistence of unhealthy behaviors, including eating behaviors, throughout life. Increasing self-regulation in childhood and adolescence has positive effects on creating healthy behaviors such as reducing unnecessary eating and changing unhealthy eating habits. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate an intervention package based on cognitive self-regulation training in changing eating behaviors and reducing obesity in children and adolescents. Fifty-six students with obesity aged 12–16 years participated in the study in three groups (cognitive self-regulation training [CSRT], diet, and control). The CSRT group received twenty 30-min online training sessions with a diet over 10 weeks. The diet group received only a diet with no other intervention, and the control group did not receive any intervention.
AUTHOR(S) Robert Siegel; Philip Khoury; S. Andrew Spooner (et al.)
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a great challenge to children and their families with stay-at-home orders, school closures, decreased exercise opportunities, stress, and potential overeating with home confinement. This study describes the body mass index (BMI) changes over an entire decade, including a year of the COVID-19 pandemic at a large children's hospital. With this retrospective observational study, data were extracted from Cincinnati Children's Hospital's Epic electronic medical record, a free-standing children's hospital with 670 inpatient beds and >1.2 million patient encounters per year. Children aged 19 years and under with at least one height and weight were included in the analysis.
AUTHOR(S) Sushmita Jha; Ashok M. Mehendale
The recent coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has immensely impacted all classes of society, but the effects on children and adolescents are much more pronounced than on others. While obesity and its comorbidities in children and adolescents have always been a concern, the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be one of the leading causes of health problems in children and adolescents worldwide, leading to various complications. Hence, understanding its long-term sequelae is of utmost importance. The role of physicians in family counseling, nutrition counseling, and diet education is vital in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The BMI (body mass index) measurements and retrospective cohort studies of various individuals are useful for the pertinent research. During the pandemic, social isolation, staying at home, increased screen time due to online classes, reduced outdoor activities, and more snacking are some of the contributing factors that have increased the prevalence of obesity and further morbidities associated with it. Multiple studies and guidelines are available for combating these issues; still, an increasing number of such cases have been encountered in routine outpatient department (OPD) practice. As opposed to specific infectious illnesses, obesity and its comorbidities are non-infectious, and a slow-growing silent risk; hence parents approach the pediatrician quite late in the disease process. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, every aspect of our life has entered a more virtual domain and is no longer confined to a mere physical sphere. This sudden shift to virtual online classes has significantly impacted children and adolescents by decreasing their physical activities and social interactions in schools. This has even led to increased use of social media and mobile phone games by children and adolescents, a grave concern for parents, pediatricians, and epidemiologists. A more detailed assessment and multidisciplinary approach might benefit in dealing with the management of this emerging issue. Gaining enhanced clarity by establishing more guidelines can help physicians as well as parents in the management of this critical issue.
UNICEF Innocenti's Children and COVID-19 Library is a database collecting research from around the world on COVID-19 and its impacts on children and adolescents.
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