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
. 2024 Aug 2;21(1):84.
doi: 10.1186/s12966-024-01634-2.

Home environment factors associated with child BMI changes during COVID-19 pandemic

Carolyn F McCabe  1   2 , G Craig Wood  2 , Gregory J Welk  3 , Adam Cook  2 , Jennifer Franceschelli-Hosterman  4 , Lisa Bailey-Davis  5   6
Affiliations

Home environment factors associated with child BMI changes during COVID-19 pandemic

Carolyn F McCabe et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. .

Abstract

Background: The influence of home obesogenic environments, as assessed by the validated Family Nutrition and Physical Activity (FNPA) tool, and child obesity during the COVID pandemic were evaluated using electronic health records in this retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Historical data on BMI and the FNPA screening tool were obtained from annual well-child visits within the Geisinger Health System. The study examined youth ages 2-17 that had a BMI record and an FNPA assessment prior to the pandemic (BMI 3/1/19-2/29/20), 1 BMI record 3 months into the pandemic (6/1/20-12/31/20) and 1 BMI in the second year of the pandemic (1/1/21-12/31/21). Tertiles of obesity risk by FNPA score were examined. Mixed-effects linear regression was used to examine change in BMI slope (kg/m2 per month) pre-pandemic to pandemic using FNPA summary and subscales scores as predictors and adjusting for confounding factors.

Results: The analyses included 6,746 children (males: 51.7%, non-Hispanic white: 86.6%, overweight:14.8%, obesity:10.3%, severe obesity: 3.9%; mean(SD) age: 5.7(2.8) years). The rate of BMI change in BMI was greatest from early pandemic compared to pre-pandemic for children in lowest versus highest tertiles of FNPA summary score (0.079 vs. 0.044 kg/m2), FNPA-Eating (0.068 vs. 0.049 kg/m2), and FNPA-Activity (0.078 vs. 0.052 kg/m2). FNPA summary score was significantly associated with change in BMI from the pre-pandemic to early pandemic period (p = 0.014), but not associated with change in BMI during the later pandemic period.

Conclusions: This study provides additional insight into the changes in the rate of BMI change observed among children and adolescents in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FNPA provides ample opportunity to continue our exploration of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the longitudinal growth patterns among children and adolescents.

Keywords: Childhood overweight; Electronic health record; Family nutrition and physical activity (FNPA); Pediatric obesity; Retrospective study.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this section.

References

    1. Lange SJ, Kompaniyets L, Freedman DS, Kraus EM, Porter R, Blanck HM, et al. Longitudinal trends in Body Mass Index before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among persons aged 2–19 years — United States, 2018–2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(37):1278–83. 10.15585/mmwr.mm7037a3. 10.15585/mmwr.mm7037a3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Knapp EA, Dong Y, Dunlop AL, Aschner JL, Stanford JB, Hartert T, et al. Changes in BMI during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatr (Evanston). 2022;150(3):1. 10.1542/peds.2022-056552.10.1542/peds.2022-056552 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rifas-Shiman SL, Aris IM, Bailey C, Daley MF, Heerman WJ, Janicke DM, et al. Changes in obesity and BMI among children and adolescents with selected chronic conditions during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Obes (Silver Spring Md). 2022;30(10):1932–7. 10.1002/oby.23532.10.1002/oby.23532 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pierce SL, Kompaniyets L, Freedman DS, Goodman AB, Blanck HM. Children’s rates of BMI change during pre-pandemic and two COVID‐19 pandemic periods, IQVIA Ambulatory Electronic Medical Record, January 2018 through November 2021. Obes (Silver Spring Md). 2023;31(3):693–8. 10.1002/oby.23643.10.1002/oby.23643 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barlow SE, Committee E. Expert Committee Recommendations Regarding the Prevention, Assessment, and treatment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity: Summary Report. Pediatr (Evanston). 2007;120(Supplement):S164–92. 10.1542/peds.2007-2329C.10.1542/peds.2007-2329C - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources