New statistics from the Centers for Disease Control paint an alarming picture of the health of children in the aftermath of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
According to the numbers, childhood obesity shot up significantly over the past 18 months as government officials and teachers unions closed schools, playgrounds and parks.
"Among a cohort of 432,302 persons aged 2–19 years, the rate of body mass index (BMI) increase approximately doubled during the pandemic compared to a prepandemic period. Persons with prepandemic overweight or obesity and younger school-aged children experienced the largest increases," the CDC reports. "Overall, the monthly rate of BMI increase nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic period compared with that during the prepandemic period."
"Persons aged 2–19 years in all BMI categories except underweight experienced significant increases in their rate of BMI change during the pandemic (Table 2). Among persons with overweight, moderate obesity, and severe obesity, pandemic rates of BMI increase more than doubled, compared with prepandemic rates," the CDC continues. "Compared with other age groups, children aged 6–11 years experienced the largest increase in their rate of BMI change (0.09 kg/m2/month), with a pandemic rate of change that was 2.50 times as high as the prepandemic rate. Age-stratified analyses revealed that among children aged 3–5 and 6–11 years, the difference in the rate of BMI change increased with increasing BMI category. "
New @CDCMMWR looking at BMI among children and teens suggests many gained weight faster during the pandemic, especially those with overweight and obesity. This shows importance of obesity prevention efforts for children during & after #COVID19. Read more: https://t.co/8CDE0qOf9r. pic.twitter.com/TwkmLLVlMJ
— CDC (@CDCgov) September 16, 2021
For adults far more susceptible to Wuhan coronavirus, obesity is overwhelmingly the main underlying cause of hospitalization or death from the disease.
"[A CDC] study found obese patients with BMIs higher than 30 made up about half of all coronavirus hospital admissions between March and December of 2020. Overweight patients, or people with BMIs higher than 25 but lower than 30, accounted for 28.3% of hospitalized coronavirus patients during the same time frame," Forbes reports. "Researchers also found an association between BMI and patients requiring admission to an intensive care unit, invasive mechanical ventilation and death, especially in people aged 65 and older."
Adults with obesity are at higher risk for severe #COVID19 illness. Learn steps you can take to protect yourself and slow the spread at: https://t.co/EFZZhvxpyJ. pic.twitter.com/vIKSRExmZV
— CDC (@CDCgov) October 19, 2020