Influence of COVID-19-Related Restrictions on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obese Czech Children.

Apart from influencing the health of the worldwide population, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the day-to-day life of all, including children. A sedentary lifestyle along with the transformation of eating and sleep habits took place in the child population. These changes created a highly obesogenic environment. Our aim was to evaluate the current weight in the child population and identify the real effects of the pandemic. Height and weight data were collected by pediatricians from the pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 periods from 3517 children (1759 boys and 1758 girls) aged 4.71 to 17.33 years. We found a significant rise in the z-score BMI between pediatric visits in the years 2019 and 2021 in both sexes aged 7, 9, 11, and 13 years. Especially alarming were the percentages of (severely) obese boys at the ages of 9 and 11 years, which exceed even the percentages of overweight boys. With the use of statistical modeling, we registered the most dramatic increment at around 12 years of age in both sexes. Based on our research in the Czech Republic, we can confirm the predictions that were given at the beginning of the pandemic that COVID-19-related restrictions worsened the already present problem of obesity and excess weight in children.

Body mass index in young men in Switzerland after the national shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a cross-sectional monitoring study at the population level since 2010.

BACKGROUND: Owing to the coronavirus disease pandemic, the Swiss goverment imposed a shutdown twice in 2020, which may have changed diet and physical activity. Regarding the question of weight change during the pandemic, little information based on measured weight data is available. We aimed to investigate whether the body mass indices (BMIs) of young Swiss men after the two shutdowns in spring and fall 2020 differed from those of young men examined before the shutdowns. METHODS: We analysed young Swiss men's BMIs taken during mandatory recruitment for the Swiss Armed Forces at the cross-sectional (not individual longitudinal) monitoring level and across weeks of conscription between January 2010 and July 2021 (n = 373 016). These data allow for continuous health monitoring of young men at almost the population level (coverage, >90%). For statistical modelling, we used the generalized additive model (GAM) framework. RESULTS: We showed that the BMIs of the conscripts examined in the 15 weeks after the two shutdowns in spring and autumn 2020 were not or only slightly different from their baseline values. Sensitivity analyses revealed that this conclusion also holds if the BMI distribution or prevalence of excess weight is assessed. The GAM further showed the significant effects of individual and area-based measures of socioeconomic position and age on BMI. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that lifestyle changes during the pandemic in young men might have been too modest to be reflected in body weight. However, longitudinal data and/or data on women, children, or the elderly may lead to different conclusions.