The incidence of obesity and overweight has increased sharply among the youngest since the onset of the health crisis. These are the results of a survey conducted in a French nationally transportable department published this Tuesday, April 26.
Among 4-year-olds, “significantly overweight and obese (…) are significantly overweight in 2020-2021, compared to the previous two school years,” according to this studyunder the auspices of Public Health France in Val-de-Marne, a department in the Paris region where data on nearly 50,000 children attending kindergarten there were examined.
Even if the scope of the study is limited by its geographical focus, the breadth and completeness of these data makes it possible to draw reliable conclusions at the level of this department, and even beyond.
This indicates that the percentage of children ghee It nearly doubled in the two years roughly corresponding to the onset of the health crisis. It went from 2.8% to 4.6%. The rate of childhood overweight, a situation that covers broader criteria of obesity, also increased from 8.9% to 11.2%.
Girls are more affected than boys
Researchers assume that Actions taken against covid (Generalized confinement at first, then regular school closures as soon as a case was reported) led to excessive weight gain in children.
However, the study, which also notes that girls are more affected than boys, is unable to detail the exact mechanisms of this development.
“It would be interesting to see if the diet was deteriorated rather by increased snacking, consumption of ultra-processed products or a sharp decrease in activities,” the authors note.
We can see that this work is in line with previous research, in particular research published in the fall of 2021 by US health authorities.
