Lockdowns implemented across the world due to the novel coronavirus pandemic could exacerbate childhood obesity due to improper diet and sleep and lack of physical activity, reveals a new study.
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COVID-19 Lockdowns can Worsen Childhood Obesity"
‘Kids under COVID-19 lockdown ate more junk food, watched more TV at the expense of physical activity.
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Compared to behaviors recorded a year prior, the children ate an additional meal per day; slept an extra half hour per day; added nearly five hours per day in front of the phone, computer and television screens; and dramatically increased their consumption of red meat, sugary drinks, and junk foods.Read More..
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Physical activity, on the other hand, decreased by more than two hours per week, and the number of vegetables consumed remained unchanged.
"The tragic COVID-19 pandemic has collateral effects extending beyond direct viral infection," says Myles Faith, Ph.D., UB childhood obesity expert, and co-author of the study. "Children and teens struggling with obesity are placed in an unfortunate position of isolation that appears to create an unfavorable environment for maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviors."
"Recognizing these adverse collateral effects of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown is critical in avoiding the depreciation of hard-fought weight control efforts among youths afflicted with excess weight," says Faith, chair, and professor of counseling, school and educational psychology in the UB Graduate School of Education.
The study was led by Steven Heymsfield, MD, professor at the Louisiana State University Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Angelo Pietrobelli, MD, professor at the University of Verona in Italy.
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"School environments provide structure and routine around mealtimes, physical activity and sleep - three predominant lifestyle factors implicated in obesity risk," says Faith.
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The results confirmed the negative change in behavior, indicating that children with obesity fare worse on weight control lifestyle programs while at home compared to when they are engaged in their school curriculum.
"Depending on the duration of the lockdown, the excess weight gained may not be easily reversible and might contribute to obesity during adulthood if healthier behaviors are not re-established," says Faith. "This is because childhood and adolescent obesity tend to track over time and predict weight status as adults."
Government officials and policymakers should consider the potentially harmful effects of lockdowns on youths with obesity when making decisions regarding when and how to loosen restrictions, says Faith.
There is also a need to establish and evaluate telemedicine programs that encourage families to maintain healthy lifestyle choices during periods of lockdown, he adds.
Faith and colleagues are conducting an ongoing National Institutes of Health-funded study that is testing a family-based treatment for childhood obesity using telemedicine technology that allows participants to be treated in their homes.
Source-Eurekalert