There were significantly greater increases in BMI over time among adolescents aged 10-12 during the COVID-19 pandemic versus before the pandemic, according to a research letter published in JAMA Pediatrics. Elizabeth R. Sowell, PhD, and colleagues compared weight gain among adolescents with 1-year and 2-year follow-up assessments before March 2020 with weight gain among adolescents whose 2-year follow-up occurred after the COVID-19 lockdown. The analysis included participants aged 10-12 in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (6,359 participants pre-pandemic and 1,095 intra- pandemic). The pandemic was associated with greater longitudinal increases in BMI in both boys and girls. Female adolescents assessed during the pandemic gained a mean of 6.8 kg per year—11.2% more than female adolescents assessed before the pandemic, who gained 6.1 kg per year. Among male adolescents, mean weight gain increased by 15.9%. The pandemic was associated with a 24% increase in annual weight gain in female youth from lowerincome families. “Our results highlight the need to prioritize research and support for disadvantaged families who were most severely impacted by COVID-19,” Dr. Sowell and colleagues wrote.
