This is one of the consequences of the health crisis: cases of obesity and overweight have increased sharply among the youngest over the past two years. This is revealed by a study conducted among 4-year-old children in the Val-de-Marne department.
The Val-de-Marne Maternal Child Protection (PMI) research services have sifted through the data of 48,119 4-year-old children, enrolled in the middle section of kindergarten; i.e. almost all the children of this age group in this Ile-de-France department.
Before the health crisis, in 2018-2019, just under 9% of these children were overweight and 2.8% obese. Two years later, in 2020-2021, 11% are overweight and 4.6% considered obese.
An effect of generalized confinement, at first, then systematic school closures as soon as a case of Covid was reported. This is the hypothesis of the authors of the study.
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Inequalities by area
They cannot determine, on the other hand, whether it is rather the diet that has deteriorated or the drastic reduction in activities, but they note that the children attending the canteen or daycare after school, with a framework and debauchery extra energy, are less affected.
Unsurprisingly, however, for a disease strongly linked to social inequalities, the risk of overweight and obesity is increased among children attending school in priority areas.
It remains to be seen whether this effect on children’s weight will last over time. The first answers will be given at the end of the school year.