Weight gain associated with covid‐19 lockdown in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Background: Lockdown is an effective nonpharmaceutical intervention to reduce corona-virus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) transmission, but it restricts daily activity. We aimed to investigate the impact of lockdown on pediatric body weight and body mass index (BMI). Methods: The systematic review and meta‐analysis were conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analysis (PRISMA) statement. Four online databases (EMBASE, Medline, the Cochrane Library and CINAHL) were searched. Results: The pooled results showed that lock-down was associated with significant body weight gain (MD 2.67, 95% CI 2.12–3.23; p < 0.00001). The BMI of children with comorbidities or obesity did not change significantly. The BMI of general population was significantly higher during lockdown than before the pandemic (MD 0.94, 95% CI 0.32–1.56; p = 0.003). However, heterogeneity was high (I2 = 84%). Among changes in weight classification, increases in the rates of obesity (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10–1.37; p = 0.0002) and overweight (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.06–1.29; p = 0.001) were reported. Conclusions: Our meta‐analysis showed significant increases in body weight and BMI during lockdown among school‐age children and adolescents. The prevalence of obesity and overweight also increased. The COVID‐19 pandemic worsened the burden of childhood obesity.