Children And Teens Gained Weight At An Alarming Rate During The Pandemic

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As a group, American children and teenagers have seen a significant increase in weight gain since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with the biggest jumps occurring in younger school-aged children and those who were already prone to obesity, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study, published Thursday, looked at 432,302 people between the ages of 2 and 19 years old and found, among other things, that the percentage of obese children and teens increased to 22%, compared with 19% before the pandemic.

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Thursday's study noted that for severely obese kids, expected annual weight gain increased from 8.8 pounds before the pandemic to 14.6 pounds in August 2020. For moderately obese kids, the pre-pandemic expected weight gain of 6.5 pounds went up to 12 pounds.

Even children who had a healthy weight prior to the pandemic saw their annual rate of weight gain increase by 2 pounds, from 3.4 pounds to 5.4 pounds.

"These 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," the study said.

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