WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2021) An analysis of body mass index data from more than 400,000 Americans ages 2 to 19 showed children who were obese when the coronavirus pandemic began gained an average of 1-to-1.2 Pounds per month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a report on Thursday.
"Persons with moderate or severe obesity gained on average 1.0 and 1.2 pounds per month, respectively," the report said. "Weight gain at this rate over 6 months is estimated to result in 6.1 and 7.6 pounds, respectively, compared with 2.7 pounds in a person with healthy weight."
CDC said it based the report on body mass index data from IQVIA's Ambulatory Electronic Medical Records database, which is compiled from data submitted by approximately 100,000 health care providers affiliated with about 800 ambulatory sites in all 50 states.
Among a cohort of 432,302 children, the rate of body mass index increase approximately doubled during the pandemic, the report said.
The report examined data from March to November 2020, with obesity rates for children initially averaging about 16 percent. The period coincided with schools closing throughout the United States.
As a result, children and adolescents forced to study at home might have experienced circumstances that accelerated weight gain, including increased stress, irregular mealtimes, less access to nutritious foods, increased screen time, and fewer opportunities for physical activity, the report said.
The findings underscore the importance of efforts to prevent excess weight gain during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as during future public health emergencies, including increased access to efforts that promote healthy behaviors, according to the report.
