Changes in weight and height among Chinese preschool children during COVID-19 school closures.
Int J Obes (Lond)
; 45(10): 2269-2273, 2021 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1315586
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
COVID-19-related school closures may increase the prevalence of childhood obesity, which has aroused public concerns. We aimed to analyze the weight and height changes in Chinese preschool children during the COVID-19-related school closures period.METHODS:
A total of 124,603 children from multi-city kindergartens in China were included in this study. We evaluated the prevalence of overweight and obese in preschool children experienced school closures, and compared the changes in BMI, weight, and height of preschool children among COVID-19 school closures period, the same period last year and the same period the year before last.RESULTS:
After the school closures, childhood obesity prevalence increased, whereas overweight prevalence decreased. During school closures, the average increase in height was about 1 cm less as compared with the same period last year and the year before last, but no noteworthy difference in the weight change was observed among the three periods.CONCLUSIONS:
During COVID-19 school closures, children's height increase seemed to be more affected than weight change. Innovative, robust, and highly adaptable strategies should be taken to increase physical activity, reduce sedentary time and promote healthy diets, to minimize the adverse impact of school closures.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Body Height
/
Body Weight
/
Pediatric Obesity
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Limits:
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Obes (Lond)
Journal subject:
Metabolism
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41366-021-00912-4
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