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Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns on Body Mass Index of Primary School Children from Different Socioeconomic
Ludwig Piesch1,2, Robert Stojan1, Jochen Zinner3
1Institute of Educational Sciences, University of Münster, Bispinghof 5/6, 48143, Münster, Germany.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns led to increased body mass index (BMI) in children, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to promote children's physical activity post-pandemic.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing concern with long-term health implications.
- COVID-19 pandemic restrictions (lockdowns, school closures) disrupted children's routines, impacting physical activity, diet, and sleep.
- Socioeconomic factors may exacerbate the risk of elevated Body Mass Index (BMI) in children during pandemic conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic measures on children's BMI.
- To analyze the influence of socioeconomic background (SEB) on BMI changes during the pandemic.
- To assess BMI trends in third graders before and after pandemic-related lockdowns in Germany.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study analyzed data from 41,728 children (aged 8.84 years).
- BMI standard deviation scores (SDS) were compared across three periods: pre-COVID (Sept 2017-Mar 2020), post-first lockdown (Aug 2020-Dec 2020), and post-second lockdown (Aug 2021-Jan 2022).
- Socioeconomic background (SEB) was determined by school type classification in Berlin.
Main Results:
- Children's BMIs were significantly elevated post-lockdowns (postLDI and postLDII) compared to pre-COVID.
- Children with lower SEB consistently exhibited higher BMIs.
- A significant interaction between time and SEB showed that the impact of SEB on BMI increased following lockdowns, particularly after the second lockdown.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic measures led to increased BMI in children, with a disproportionate effect on those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Findings underscore the link between societal conditions and children's BMI, emphasizing vulnerability in low socioeconomic areas.
- Public health authorities should implement strategies to promote children's physical activity and establish post-pandemic programs to address rising childhood obesity rates.
Background:
Childhood obesity is associated with various health outcomes. Restrictive measures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, like lockdowns and school closures, affected children's daily structure, physical activity, dietary habits, and sleep quality, possibly exacerbating risk factors for childhood obesity and higher body mass index (BMI) in children. Poor socioeconomic conditions may have led to relatively higher risk for elevated BMI levels following pandemic measures. In this study, the impact of measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic on the BMI of third graders was investigated regarding children's socioeconomic background (SEB).
Methods:
Data from 41,728 children (8.84 ± 0.56 years, 20,431 female) were collected in the context of a cohort study. Children were tested either before the pandemic (preCOVID: Sept2017-March2020, n = 26,314), or following the first (postLDI: Aug2020-Dec2020, n = 6657) or second lockdown in Germany (postLDII: Aug2021-Jan2022, n = 8757). SEB was based on the official school type classification of the state of Berlin. Outcome was BMI standard deviation scores (SDS).
Results:
Significant effects of Time and SEB revealed elevated BMIs in postLDI (M = 0.23, p = 0.011) and postLDII (M = 0.22, p = 0.011) compared to preCOVID (M = 0.17) cohorts and higher BMIs for children with lower SEB (b = - 0.13, p < 0.001). A significant Time × SEB interaction indicated that the effect of SEB on children's BMI increased in response to lockdowns, especially in postLDII (b = - 0.05, p = 0.006). Results suggest that the COVID-19-related measures lead to increased BMI in children, and that children of lower SEB were at particular risk for higher BMIs following lockdowns.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight the dependency of children's BMI on societal circumstances. Over the course of two lockdowns in Germany, children have experienced BMI increments, particularly in low socioeconomic areas. Authorities are called into action to counteract increasing rates of childhood weight by promoting physical activity of children and establishing related post-pandemic offers.
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