Childhood Obesity: A Growing Pandemic

Reported in The Lancet, childhood obesity rates have increased substantially over the past year in the UK, according to a new report from the UK Government’s National Child Measurement Programme. The report details that this rise in prevalence is the largest single-year increase since the programme began 15 years ago and highlights a trend in obesity among children and adolescents not just in the UK, but worldwide. The trend now extends to both low-income and middle-income countries despite obesity once being seen as a problem mainly for high-income countries. Childhood obesity has long been a cause for concern, but the effects of the pandemic and national lockdowns has added to the issue, making childhood obesity an undeniable public health crisis and one that should be addressed imminently. 

A different lifestyle brought about because of lockdown measures including school closures, restrictions on leaving the house, and limitations on meeting new people has meant children have seen a huge jump in screen time and have become more sedentary than they were previously. The CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report measured the effects of these lifestyle changes and it notes that the rate of BMI increase almost doubled in US children and adolescents aged 2–19 years during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic. Children with overweight and obesity are more likely to become adults with obesity and to develop a host of non-communicable diseases including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and have an increased risk of cancer, premature death, and disability later in life.