The consequences of lockdowns during the initial phase of the Covid infestation can be seen on a number of children, in the form of obesity.
A new CDC report confirms what we knew. Not getting off the couch and moving took a toll.
"The rate of body mass index increase doubled during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic. And those children who were already overweight saw even larger increases," says Dr. Sarah Messiah, Director of the Center for Pediatric Population Health at UT Health School of Public Health. She says parents need to focus on nutrition, sleep, and physical activity with their kids, and let their children's naturally high metabolic rate work to their advantage.
She blames sedentary behavior for the excess weight. "That usually means screen time. Unfortunately during the pandemic, and especially early on when we were under lockdown orders, there was a lot of that."
Dr. Messiah advises getting kids outside to play safely when possible, and when they sit with a screen in their face, suggest an activity involving movement.
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