Weighing in on COVID-19: The impact of the pandemic on children and adolescents with obesity participating in a weight management program.

Abstract

SummaryBackgroundCOVID‐19 mitigation measures, including closures of schools and recreational facilities and alterations in eating behaviours and physical activity, may impact weight.ObjectiveTo examine changes in body weight and body mass index (BMI) in children and adolescents with obesity participating in an obesity treatment program before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada.MethodsBody weight and BMI at baseline and 6 months were recorded for the ‘historic’ cohort (females = 34, males = 21) before the pandemic (November 1, 2018, to March 18, 2020) and for the ‘pandemic’ cohort (females = 30, males = 30) during the pandemic (March 19, 2020 to July 31, 2021). Analyses were adjusted for baseline weight/BMI, age, and ON‐Marg score, a measure of the social determinants of health.ResultsIn males, body weight (98.29 versus 89.28 kg, p < 0.001) and BMI (36.46 versus 34.85 kg/m2, p = 0.027) were greater in the pandemic compared with historic cohort. In females, body weight (p = 0.769) and BMI (p = 0.548) were not different between the two cohorts.ConclusionThe COVID‐19 pandemic may have diminished the health impacts of a weight management program, particularly in males, leading to increased body weight and BMI.