Bruddah IZ
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FREE-RANGE KIDS The Pandemic Is Making Childhood Obesity Worse But COVID-19 isn't the only culprit.
Who gained weight most rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic? Kids.
In a study of 432,302 Americans aged 2-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found "sharp increases in BMI rates occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic… and younger school-aged children experienced the largest increases."
Before the pandemic, 19.3 percent of children were considered obese. That figure has now risen to 22.4 percent—which might not sound like a very dramatic increase, but keep in mind that childhood obesity can have all sorts of lifelong ramifications, from diabetes to heart disease to depression.
Why were kids packing on the pounds during COVID-19? The CDC suggests several possible factors, including "increased stress, irregular mealtimes, less access to nutritious foods, increased screen time and fewer opportunities for physical activity (e.g., no recreational sports)." Those are the ideas I'd come up with, too, off the top of my head.
Who gained weight most rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic? Kids.
In a study of 432,302 Americans aged 2-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found "sharp increases in BMI rates occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic… and younger school-aged children experienced the largest increases."
Before the pandemic, 19.3 percent of children were considered obese. That figure has now risen to 22.4 percent—which might not sound like a very dramatic increase, but keep in mind that childhood obesity can have all sorts of lifelong ramifications, from diabetes to heart disease to depression.
Why were kids packing on the pounds during COVID-19? The CDC suggests several possible factors, including "increased stress, irregular mealtimes, less access to nutritious foods, increased screen time and fewer opportunities for physical activity (e.g., no recreational sports)." Those are the ideas I'd come up with, too, off the top of my head.