Pandemic Led to Weight Increase Among Children, About 22 Percent Now Considered Obese

U.S. children and teenagers saw an "alarming" increase in obesity during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday. The study estimated that 22 percent of children and teenagers were obese last August, compared to 19 percent from the previous year. The research findings indicate a "profound increase in weight gain for kids," said one of the study's authors, Dr. Alyson Goodman of the CDC, who also called the results "substantial and alarming." The study determined that children who were a healthy weight before the pandemic gained 3.4 pounds a year on average, but the number rose to 5.4 pounds during the pandemic. Children and teens who were already seeing varying levels of obesity also saw an uptick in average weight gain during the pandemic, the AP reported. Those who were already moderately obese were projected to gain 6.5 pounds a year before the pandemic, rising to an expected 12 pounds after the pandemic began. Additionally, yearly expected weight gain for severely obese kids grew from 8.8 pounds to 14.6 pounds when the pandemic began, the AP reported. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:

The pandemic appears to be worsening the nation's longstanding obesity epidemic, and obesity can put people at risk for more severe illness after coronavirus infection. The CDC study released Thursday is the largest yet to look at obesity trends during the pandemic.

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The rate of obesity increased most dramatically in kids ages 6 to 11, who are more dependent on their parents and may have been more affected when schools suspended in-person classes, the researchers said. The research was based on a review of the medical records of more than 432,000 kids and teens, ages of 2 to 19, who were weighed and measured at least twice before the pandemic and at least once early in the pandemic. Some limitations: It only included children who got care before and during the pandemic, the researchers said. And it also did not offer a look at how obesity trends may have differed between racial and ethnic groups. Earlier this week, the CDC said the number of states in which at least 35 percent of residents are obese increased last year by four. Delaware, Iowa, Ohio and Texas joined the list. In 2019, there were 12 states—Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Those results were based on surveys where adults described their own height and weight, and are not as accurate as medical records.