Kids' BMI increased at double the rate during pandemic, study saysSince March 2020, children's body mass index (BMI) has increased at almost double its prepandemic rate, according to a study today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).The researchers looked at 432,302 US children aged 2 to 19 years.
Prepandemic (Jan 1, 2018, to Feb 29, 2020), the increase rate of BMI was 0.052 kilograms per square meter per month (kg/m2/month), but after the pandemic began (Mar 1 to Nov 30, 2020), the rate of change was 0.100 kg/m2/month.
Overall, obesity prevalence went from 19.3% in August 2019 to 22.4% in August 2020.Children who were above healthy weight before the pandemic or who were younger experienced the largest increases.