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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Oct 19;13(10):3668.
doi: 10.3390/nu13103668.

Weight Gain Associated with COVID-19 Lockdown in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Tu-Hsuan Chang  1 , Yu-Chin Chen  2 , Wei-Yu Chen  1 , Chun-Yu Chen  1 , Wei-Yun Hsu  1 , Yun Chou  1 , Yi-Hsin Chang  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Weight Gain Associated with COVID-19 Lockdown in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Tu-Hsuan Chang et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: Lockdown is an effective nonpharmaceutical intervention to reduce coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission, but it restricts daily activity. We aimed to investigate the impact of lockdown on pediatric body weight and body mass index (BMI).

Methods: The systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement. Four online databases (EMBASE, Medline, the Cochrane Library and CINAHL) were searched.

Results: The pooled results showed that lockdown was associated with significant body weight gain (MD 2.67, 95% CI 2.12-3.23; p < 0.00001). The BMI of children with comorbidities or obesity did not change significantly. The BMI of general population was significantly higher during lockdown than before the pandemic (MD 0.94, 95% CI 0.32-1.56; p = 0.003). However, heterogeneity was high (I2 = 84%). Among changes in weight classification, increases in the rates of obesity (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10-1.37; p = 0.0002) and overweight (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.06-1.29; p = 0.001) were reported.

Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed significant increases in body weight and BMI during lockdown among school-age children and adolescents. The prevalence of obesity and overweight also increased. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the burden of childhood obesity.

Keywords: BMI; COVID-19; adolescents; body weight; children; lockdown.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of article identification for inclusion in the qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in body weight during lockdown in children. Study populations were further divided into three groups (children with obesity, children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and children without comorbidities), and subgroup analysis was performed. Abbreviations: BW, body weight; DM, diabetes mellitus.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Changes in BMI during lockdown in children. Study populations were further divided into three groups (children with obesity, children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and children without comorbidities), and subgroup analysis was performed. Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; DM, diabetes mellitus.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Associations between lockdown and obesity in children. The obesity rate increased during lockdown.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Associations between lockdown and overweight in children. The proportion of overweight children increased during lockdown.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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