Changes in Food Consumption, BMI, and Body Composition in Youth in the US during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nasreen Moursi, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff (), Megan Parker, Lucy Loch, Bess Bloomer, Jennifer Te-Vazquez, Ejike Nwosu, Julia Lazareva, Shanna B. Yang, Sara Turner, Sheila Brady and Jack Yanovski
Additional contact information
Nasreen Moursi: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Marian Tanofsky-Kraff: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Megan Parker: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Lucy Loch: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Bess Bloomer: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Jennifer Te-Vazquez: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Ejike Nwosu: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Julia Lazareva: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Shanna B. Yang: Nutrition Department, NIH Clinical Center, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Sara Turner: Nutrition Department, NIH Clinical Center, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Sheila Brady: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Jack Yanovski: Section on Growth and Obesity, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Room 1-3330, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 18, 1-12

Abstract: Rates of childhood overweight/obesity have risen for decades; however, data show the prevalence increased at a faster rate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic-associated increases in youth’s body mass index (BMI; kg/m 2 ) have been attributed to decreases in reported physical activity; few studies have examined changes in food intake. We therefore examined changes in total energy, nutrient consumption, BMI, BMIz, and adiposity longitudinally over 3 years, comparing healthy youth aged 8–17 years assessed twice prior to the pandemic, to youth seen once before and once during the pandemic. The total energy intake and percent macronutrient consumption were assessed using a standardized, laboratory-based, buffet-style meal. Height and weight were measured and adiposity was collected via dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Generalized linear model univariate analyses investigated differences between groups. One-hundred-fifteen youth (15.6 + 2.8 years 47.8% female; 54.8% White) from the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia greater metropolitan area participated. In this secondary analysis, neither changes in total energy intake ( p = 0.52) nor changes in nutrient consumption were significantly different between the two groups ( ps = 0.23–0.83). Likewise, changes in BMI, BMIz, and adiposity ( ps = 0.95–0.25) did not differ by group. Further research should investigate food intake and body composition, comparing youth with and without overweight/obesity to better identify those at greatest risk of excess weight gain during the pandemic.

Keywords: overweight; obesity; youth; COVID-19; pandemic; food consumption; BMI; adiposity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/18/6796/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/18/6796/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:18:p:6796-:d:1244845

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().