A study by Swedish pediatric researchers sheds light on worrying trends related to overweight and obesity rates in the young population.
Leveraging data from over 25,000 Swedish children, the results of this study show that BMI in children aged 3 or 4 significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that obesity rates were higher in regions with lower socioeconomic status. disproportionately affects children of
“Sweden, like many other countries, did not go into lockdown during the pandemic, but the incidence of overweight and obesity increased at 3- and 4-year-olds, and even at such young ages, social The economic difference is clear,” said lead investigator Anton Holmgren, M.D., a pediatrician at Harland Hospital and a research fellow at the University of Gothenburg.
As the obesity epidemic continues to gain footing and become a more pressing problem for global health systems, health systems seek to reduce the ultimate impact of obesity on the aging of this population. It is with this in mind that a current retrospective population-based cross-sectional study was conducted by Holmgren and colleagues at several Swedish institutions.
The researchers used this data to study human body quality from the Swedish National Quality Registry for Child Health Care, with the aim of examining changes in BMI and obesity and overweight rates in children during the pandemic. We designed the study to use measured data. Restricting the study to those with complete growth data, researchers identified 25,049 of her children from her three regions of Sweden for inclusion in the analysis.
Of the 25,049 individuals included in this study, 16,237 had growth measurement data at age 3, 14,437 had growth measurement data at age 4, and 11,711 had growth measurement data at age 5. For analysis purposes, the care needs index was used as a socioeconomic parameter at the health center level.
Analysis showed a statistically significant increase in BMI in 3-year-olds (P.=.028) during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, obesity rates increased from 2.8% to 3.9% in her 3-year-old girls and from 2.4% to 2.6% in her 3-year-old boys. Statistically significant changes in BMI were also observed among 4-year-old children (P. <.001), the prevalence of obesity is increasing among boys and girls during the pandemic. There was no statistically significant change in her BMI at age 5.
An additional analysis stratified by quartiles of the Care Needs Index showed that people in lower socioeconomic regions had significantly increased BMI during the pandemic. Among children in the highest quartile of the Care Needs Index, the proportion of overweight 3- and 4-year-old children increased from 9.5% to 12.4% during the pandemic, suggesting that obesity in these children The rate increased from 2.5% to 4.4%.
“This study highlights the need for further efforts and interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity, especially in areas of low socioeconomic status,” added Holmgren.
This study, “Increased incidence of overweight and obesity among preschool-aged Swedish children during the COVID-19 pandemic,” European Journal of Public Health.
