Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan;19(1):34-45.
doi: 10.1089/chi.2021.0216. Epub 2022 Apr 21.

Parental Perspectives Regarding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Their Children

Shriya Tanti  1 , Jonathan P Troost  2   3 , Elias Samuels  2 , Athena Mckay  3 , Theresa Kowalski-Dobson  3 , Donald Vereen  3   4 , Noelle Gorka  2 , Vaishali Nambiar  3 , Kent Key  5   6 , Bettina Campbell  7   6 , Ella Greene-Moton  6 , Luther Evans  6 , Sarah Bailey  6   8 , Kendra Juliette  3 , Arlene Sparks  6   9 , E Hill DeLoney  10 , Patricia Piechowski  3 , Susan J Woolford  2   3
Affiliations

Parental Perspectives Regarding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Their Children

Shriya Tanti et al. Child Obes. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought profound changes to the health of families worldwide. Yet, there is limited research regarding its impact on children. The pandemic may exacerbate factors associated with excess weight, which is particularly concerning due to the potential association between excess weight and severity of COVID-19 infection. This study investigates parental perspectives of changes in fruit/vegetable (FV) intake, processed food (PF) intake, outdoor playtime (OP), physical activity (PA) levels, and recreational screen time (RST) among children living in Michigan during the pandemic. Methods: The study team and community partners developed and distributed a survey using snowball sampling to reach families living largely in Central and Southeastern Michigan. Nonlinear mixed-effects proportional odds models were used to examine associations between child weight status along with demographic/household factors and changes in five weight-related behaviors. Results: Parents (n = 1313; representing 2469 children) reported a decrease in OP, FV, and PA levels, while there was an increase in RST and PF intake among their children. Household income was protective against a decrease in OP, PA, and FV but was associated with increased RST. Children's weight status was associated with decreased FV. Age was negatively associated with OP and PA, and positively associated with RST. Conclusions: These findings suggest an adverse influence of the pandemic on weight-related behaviors, particularly among adolescents in families with lower incomes and those with excess weight. Further work is needed to measure any impact on BMI trajectory and to identify interventions to reverse negative effects.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; community intervention; lifestyle behaviors; obesity prevention; parental strategies; pediatric health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Adjusted nonlinear mixed-effects proportional odds model results. Higher odds ratio indicates higher level of behavior during the pandemic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bedford J, Enria D, Giescke J, et al. WHO Strategic and Technical Advsiory Group for Infectious Hazards. COVID-19: Towards controlling of a pandemic. Lancet 2020;395:1015–1018. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee PI, Hu YL, Chen PY, et al. Are children less susceptible to COVID-19?. J Microbiol Immunol Infect 2020;53:371–372. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Browne D, Prime H, Wade M. Risk and resilience in family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Am Psychologist 2020;75:631–643. - PubMed
    1. Brown S, Doom J, Lechunga-Pena S, et al. Stress and parenting during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Child Abuse Negl 2020;110:104699. - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Survey of Children's Health. 2019–2020. National Outcome Measure 20: Percent of adolescents, ages 10 through 17, who are obese (BMI at or above the 95th percentile). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). https://www.childhealthdata.org (last accessed November 3, 2021).

Publication types