New Evidence of Surge in Childhood Obesity. NewsWire

NewsWire: 9/28/21

• According to a new CDC report, kids and teens gained weight at an “alarming” rate during the pandemic. The study examined more than 430,000 children nationwide. (Axios)
• NH: In July, we covered a study on childhood obesity rates in 2020. (See “How the Pandemic Triggered America's Latest Obesity Surge”) Researchers found that the share of obese children (ages 2-17) rose from 13.7% in 2019 to 15.4% in 2020. That's an increase of 12.4%. A limitation of the study was that the sample of children, while large, was only from the greater Philadelphia area. But now the CDC has released its own study based on national data.
• What does the CDC conclude? The share of obese children (ages 2-19) rose from 19.3% in August 2019 to 22.4% in August 2020. That’s a +16.1% surge, somewhat larger than in the Philadelphia study. The reason the CDC finds both a higher rate of obesity and a larger YoY increase is most likely due to the smaller age range used in the Philadelphia study.
• Unlike previous researchers, the CDC provides data on the rise of BMI and gained weight. In 2019, the average YoY increase in BMI among children was 0.052. In 2020, the average YoY increase almost doubled to 0.100. Children with moderate obesity gained on average 12 pounds. That’s up 6 pounds from the year prior.
• The implications for this rise in weight are far-reaching. Childhood obesity is linked to everything from hypertension to early puberty to depression. It's also strongly correlated with adult obesity, which is linked to higher rates of adult mortality and further life expectancy declines. It's no wonder that the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that all children be screened for obesity risk factors.