The COVID-19 pandemic is tied to an 'alarming' increase in obesity among U.S. children and teenagers, a new study finds. They found that the share of children with obesity in the U.S. increased from 19 percent to 22 percent from August 2020 to August 2021 - a 15 percent increase. Before the pandemic, children who were a healthy weight were gaining an average of 3.4 pounds per year. For severely obese kids, expected annual weight gain went from 8.8 pounds to 14.6 pounds, nearly double. The worst off group was severely obese children aged six to 11, whose BMI jumped from 26 to 31 on average during the pandemic.

Source: The Nation September 17, 2021 17:26 UTC