As The Pandemic Grows, So Do The Waistlines Of Our Youth

When the 2021 freshman class returns home for Thanksgiving break, the inevitable "freshman fifteen" jokes will play with the same frequency as AC/DC's Live album prior to a high school weight lifting session.

Now, the overweight newbies will have company, this time with their much younger brothers and sisters. A study now indicates that obesity amongst children ages 5 to 11 increased by nearly 10 percent during the pandemic.

Using data via Kaiser Permanente Southern California electronic health records, a study was conducted with children ranging in age from 5 to 17.

The children included within the study had continuous health coverage and had to have had at least one in-person visit that measured their body mass index (BMI) between March 2019 and January 2020, and at least one BMI after June 16, 2020.

The study shows an increase in obesity amongst all youth age groups, with the largest increase in those ages 5 through 11: from 36.2% to 45.7% during the pandemic.

Because the study was conducted both prior to and during the pandemic, it's reasonable to conclude that the increased obesity amongst our youth was largely due to the pandemic. Lockdowns, cancellation of youth sports, and paranoia has led to the "third-grade thirty."

Next time your chubby Charlie comes in the house huffing and puffing after walking back from the mailbox, rest assured, those are pandemic pounds. And there's no vaccine for that. Yet.

Fat-Vax, coming to your child's arms spring of 2022!