Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether the efficacy of a standard-of-care pediatric obesity treatment was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS: Analyses leveraged data from an ongoing pediatric obesity treatment trial involving 230 lower-income, urban children aged 6 to 12 years. Mixed-effects regression models compared children who participated in a 12-month weight-management intervention before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic on change from baseline in BMI z score (ΔzBMI) at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.
RESULTS: The observed pattern of ΔzBMI was significantly different before versus during the pandemic (χ 2 = 22.73, p < 0.0001). Children treated before the pandemic maintained an average weight loss of -0.06 ΔzBMI at 12 months, whereas children treated during the pandemic steadily gained weight over time, averaging a net gain of 0.11 ΔzBMI at 12 months (χ 2 = 34.99, p < 0.0001). Treatment session completion did not differ before versus during the pandemic (60.4% vs. 55.7%, respectively; p = 0.30) or account for differences in ΔzBMI.
CONCLUSIONS: Similar reductions in intervention efficacy may be anticipated in other pediatric obesity treatment trials conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many families that have struggled with managing their child's weight during this period may need encouragement to continue engaging in structured weight management as society renormalizes.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 45-49 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Obesity |
Volume | 30 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study was supported by NIH grant R01DK111358. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the NIH
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Obesity Society
Keywords
- Body Mass Index
- COVID-19
- Child
- Humans
- Pandemics/prevention & control
- Pediatric Obesity/epidemiology
- SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural