PC1158: Changes in Physical Activity, Nutritional Habits and BMI of Children and Adolescents During the covid-19 Pandemic Lock-down

Background: The COVID19 pandemic affected established factors contributing to obesity such as school closure, food insecurity, decreased physical activity and increased anxiety. We aim to assess the nutritional habits, physical activity, and other lifestyle components before and during the COVID19 pandemic lock-down and their associations to BMI changes in children.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey of patients aged 8 to 17 years old who were seen from May 2021 to April 2022 at the clinic of Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York. The survey was structured into two sections: before the lockdown (prior to March 2020) and during the lockdown (March 2020-June 2020) and asked about food insecurity; physical activity; screen time; and sleep duration. We also collected BMI from the most recent visit prior to the lockdown and the current visit, along with sex, age, BMIp and ethnicity. We used the IBM SPSS 25 software and calculated the BMIp means, BMI categories and frequency of demographics. We used a Wilcoxon signed rank test to compare pre and post lock-down variables. We used a logistic regression model to analyze the relation of the variables with the BMI category.

Results: We surveyed 100 participants with equal distribution across males and females and most were of Hispanic ethnicity. There was an increase in mean BMIp between pre lock-down and post lock-down periods (t88=3.391,p <.001) with an average difference of 5.74. A Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed that during the lock-down, participants reported more days worrying about food sources (p=0.013), more time per week obtaining food from food pantries/food lines (p=0.023) or school (p=0.016), less time per day engaging in physical activity (p < 0.001) and more time spent on electronic devices for leisure (p < 0.001). Participants also reported being more anxious and worried during lock-down than before the COVID19 lock-down (p=0.002). After adjusting for all the predictor variables in the survey, obtaining food from school when school was not in session (p=0.028) and physical activity during the COVID19 lock-down (p=0.024) were associated with not being overweight or obese.

Conclusion: During the COVID19 pandemic, children and adolescents reported changes in behaviors associated with weight gain. Furthermore, they were more anxious, sad, worried, and scared during the lockdown period than before the pandemic started. A source of food supply when schools are not in session along with remote physical activity programs can mitigate weight gain during times of lockdown for future pandemics.