Gewichtszunahme bei Kindern und Jugendlichen während der Covid-19 Pandemie

Zusammenfassung

Es wurde viel darüber spekuliert, ob durch Schulschließungen, eingeschränkte soziale Kontakte und den Wegfall sportlicher Aktivitäten während der Covid-19-Pandemie die Adipositasepidemie im Kindesalter verstärkt werden würde. Deshalb haben wir die BMI-Verläufe während der 15 Jahre vor und während der Covid-19-Pandemie untersucht. Der Trend der BMI-Veränderungen (als delta-BMI-SDS) und die Anteile der Kinder, die Gewicht zunahmen bzw. verloren, zwischen 2005 und 2019 sowie entsprechend Daten von 2019 vor der Pandemie und von 2020 nach dem Einsetzen der ersten Pandemiemaßnahmen wurden bei mehr als 150 000 Kindern (ca. 10 000 in der pandemischen Phase) verglichen. Während der Covid-19-Pandemie fand sich eine substantielle Gewichtszunahme über alle Gewichtsklassen und Altersstufen hinweg. Die Änderung des mittleren BMI-SDS war wesentlich höher als in den Jahren zuvor. Ebenso stieg der Anteil der Kinder, die Gewicht zunahmen. Der Anteil der Kinder, die Gewicht über den Zeitraum verloren, nahm hingegen ab. Außerdem fanden wir ähnliche Trends, der zwar auf eine wesentlich schwächere aber doch stetige Gewichtszunahme hinweisen, bereits seit 2005. Es ist alarmierend, dass sowohl der langfristige Trend als auch die kurzfristigen, pandemie-bezogenen Effekte bei Kindern, die bereits übergewichtig oder adipös waren, am größten waren.

Die Trends, die wir in mehreren Parametern der Gewichtsveränderung über einen Zeitraum von mehr als 15 Jahren beobachten konnten, weisen auf eine Zunahme des BMI-SDS. Besonders bei adipösen Kindern ist diese Dynamik ausgeprägt. Covid-19-bezogene Maßnahmen verstärken die Effekte und könnten damit die Adipositasepidemie im Kindesalter weiter eskalieren.

Abstract

There is much concern about the consequences of school/kindergarten closures and further social constraints imposed on children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we analyzed data on a 3-month weight change in children and adolescents between 2005 and 2020, emphasizing the comparison of the changes in 2019/20 with the respective changes before COVID-19. We obtained more than 252,910 measurement pairs from more than 150,000 children between 2005 and 2020. Subsequently, the 3-month BMI-SDS change rates were calculated. Their trends were modeled applying regression models stratified for the time before and during COVID-19. Moreover, we also compared the trends between age and weight groups. We found a distinct weight gain during COVID-19, substantially higher than the years before. In particular, there was a marked increase in the 3-month BMI-SDS change, a higher proportion of children gaining weight, and a lower proportion of children losing weight. Moreover, even before COVID-19, the three studied parameters pointed towards a weight gain, but the effects were rather small compared with the effects during COVID-19. Dauntingly, the weight gain effects were most pronounced in the already affected population of children with overweight or obesity, during COVID-19 and before.

The observed trends in parameters of weight changes point to an increase of BMI-SDS during the last 15 years. The dynamic was especially pronounced in children. Covid-19-related measures have accelerated the effect and may lead to a further escalation of the childhood obesity epidemic.

Schlüsselwörter

Covid-19/Corona-Pandemie - Kinder und Jugendliche - Körpermasseindex (BMI) - Adipositas - Übergewicht - Gewichtszunahme

Key words

Covid-19 - children - adolescents - body mass index - obesity - pandemic

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