Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to special circumstances and changes to everyday life due to the worldwide measures that were imposed such as lockdowns. This review aims to evaluate obesity in children, adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A literature search...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/2/135 |
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| author | Androniki Stavridou Evangelia Kapsali Eleni Panagouli Athanasios Thirios Konstantinos Polychronis Flora Bacopoulou Theodora Psaltopoulou Maria Tsolia Theodoros N. Sergentanis Artemis Tsitsika |
| author_facet | Androniki Stavridou Evangelia Kapsali Eleni Panagouli Athanasios Thirios Konstantinos Polychronis Flora Bacopoulou Theodora Psaltopoulou Maria Tsolia Theodoros N. Sergentanis Artemis Tsitsika |
| author_sort | Androniki Stavridou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to special circumstances and changes to everyday life due to the worldwide measures that were imposed such as lockdowns. This review aims to evaluate obesity in children, adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A literature search was conducted to evaluate pertinent studies up to 10 November 2020. Results: A total of 15 articles were eligible; 9 identified 17,028,111 children, adolescents and young adults from 5–25 years old, 5 pertained to studies with an age admixture (<i>n</i> = 20,521) and one study included parents with children 5–18 years old (<i>n</i> = 584). During the COVID-19 era, children, adolescents and young adults gained weight. Changes in dietary behaviors, increased food intake and unhealthy food choices including potatoes, meat and sugary drinks were noted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Food insecurity associated with financial reasons represents another concern. Moreover, as the restrictions imposed reduced movements out of the house, physical activity was limited, representing another risk factor for weight gain. Conclusions: COVID-19 restrictions disrupted the everyday routine of children, adolescents and young adults and elicited changes in their eating behaviors and physical activity. To protect them, health care providers should highlight the risk of obesity and provide prevention strategies, ensuring also parental participation. Worldwide policies, guidelines and precautionary measures should ideally be established. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:56:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb03e9bac71d4f7a8a61f93afb1cf4f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:56:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb03e9bac71d4f7a8a61f93afb1cf4f82023-12-11T16:50:01ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672021-02-018213510.3390/children8020135Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 PandemicAndroniki Stavridou0Evangelia Kapsali1Eleni Panagouli2Athanasios Thirios3Konstantinos Polychronis4Flora Bacopoulou5Theodora Psaltopoulou6Maria Tsolia7Theodoros N. Sergentanis8Artemis Tsitsika92nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece2nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece2nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece2nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece2nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, GreeceCenter for Adolescent Medicine and UNESCO Chair Adolescent Health Care, First Department of Pediatrics, “Agia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece2nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece2nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece2nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece2nd Department of Pediatrics, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, GreeceBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to special circumstances and changes to everyday life due to the worldwide measures that were imposed such as lockdowns. This review aims to evaluate obesity in children, adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A literature search was conducted to evaluate pertinent studies up to 10 November 2020. Results: A total of 15 articles were eligible; 9 identified 17,028,111 children, adolescents and young adults from 5–25 years old, 5 pertained to studies with an age admixture (<i>n</i> = 20,521) and one study included parents with children 5–18 years old (<i>n</i> = 584). During the COVID-19 era, children, adolescents and young adults gained weight. Changes in dietary behaviors, increased food intake and unhealthy food choices including potatoes, meat and sugary drinks were noted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Food insecurity associated with financial reasons represents another concern. Moreover, as the restrictions imposed reduced movements out of the house, physical activity was limited, representing another risk factor for weight gain. Conclusions: COVID-19 restrictions disrupted the everyday routine of children, adolescents and young adults and elicited changes in their eating behaviors and physical activity. To protect them, health care providers should highlight the risk of obesity and provide prevention strategies, ensuring also parental participation. Worldwide policies, guidelines and precautionary measures should ideally be established.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/2/135COVID-19obesityweight gain |
| spellingShingle | Androniki Stavridou Evangelia Kapsali Eleni Panagouli Athanasios Thirios Konstantinos Polychronis Flora Bacopoulou Theodora Psaltopoulou Maria Tsolia Theodoros N. Sergentanis Artemis Tsitsika Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic Children COVID-19 obesity weight gain |
| title | Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | obesity in children and adolescents during covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | COVID-19 obesity weight gain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/2/135 |
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