The COVID-19 lockdown increased obesity disparities; will the increases in type 2 diabetes continue?

The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of the increases in pediatric obesity during the COVID-19 lockdown with the annual increases in obesity in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

This study compared two reports of increases in the prevalence of obesity in youth during the COVID-19 lockdown with the annual rate of increase in obesity in NHANES.

When expressed as multiples, the changes in prevalence among elementary school children observed in two population-based surveys were 28 to 63 times greater than the annual changes in the prevalence of obesity observed in NHANES. Increases in Black and Hispanic youth were greater than those in White youth. The net impact of the COVID-19 lockdown increased the disparities in obesity among this age group.

The rapid increases in obesity are likely to persist and may be associated with an increase in the prevalence of severe obesity as these children age. Furthermore, the increased susceptibility to diabetes in Hispanic and Black children, as well as the reported increase in diabetes among 0- to 18-year-old individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, may lead to an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes in minority youth with obesity.