The Washington Post (8/31, Reiley) reports, “Childhood obesity rose significantly during the pandemic, according to a new study” published in Journal of the American Medical Association Network. Drawing on electronic health record data from nearly 200,000 children ages 5 to 17, the research “is considered one of the largest of its kind, experts said.” It “pointed to an increase in obesity among the youngest age group” – children between the ages of 5 and 11 – “during the pandemic year that was higher than the increase in this group over the past 20 years.” The Post adds, “Among 12- to 15-year-olds, the study showed a rise in obesity levels during the pandemic that matched the increase that had occurred over the past 20 years. And among 16- to 17-year-olds, the pandemic year weight gain was about half the rate of increase in obesity compared to what teenagers that age had shown over the past 20 years.”
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