How did previously obese children and adolescents behave during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in relation to weight gain?

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the implications of social contingency measures and interruption of outpatient follow-up on weight gain in children and adolescents with a previous diagnosis of obesity.

Methods: This is an observational study with data from electronic medical records of children and adolescents followed up at a specialized outpatient clinic from 2019 to 2023. Weight gain, height, BMI variation, BMI z-score, laboratory tests, and associated comorbidities were analyzed. The data were computed and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and the results were considered statistically significant when p<0.05.

Results: There was a weight gain of approximately 17.66% in the total set of participants, corresponding to a median increase of 14 kg. When analyzing between genders, we observed an approximate increase of 21.38% in body weight for men, while for women, it was 21.45%.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant weight gain among previously obese children and adolescents in follow-up at a specialized outpatient clinic.