Dynamics of childhood obesity in Hong Kong throughout the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the school closures: a 3-year longitudinal study

K. M. Yip; H.K. So; W. H.S. Wong; R. S. Wong; K. T.S. Tung; W. W.Y. Tso; I. C.K. Wong; J. C. Yam; M. Y.W. Kwan; G. P.G. Fung; S. W.S. Wong; P. Ip

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2023.10.037

Dynamics of childhood obesity in Hong Kong throughout the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the school closures: a 3-year longitudinal study

K. M. Yip, H.K. So, W. H.S. Wong, R. S. Wong, K. T.S. Tung, W. W.Y. Tso, I. C.K. Wong, J. C. Yam, M. Y.W. Kwan, G. P.G. Fung, S. W.S. Wong, P. Ip^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Objective: This study is to evaluate if there is any difference in the balance between incidence of and remission from overweight/obesity in Hong Kong school-age children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic over three years. Methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study that involved children aged 6–16 years from a database of the School Physical Fitness Award Scheme. Results: 2765 students were longitudinally followed up for two years. The prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity was increased between the 2019 and 2021 academic years (P < 0.001). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of obesity remission significantly reduced by 7.9 % (P = 0.003), at a background of a plateau of obesity among children and adolescents. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence on the impact of school closure and home confinement as a standard infection control measure for the prevention of COVID-19, which are likely to break the balance between incidence of and remission from childhood obesity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	80-83
Number of pages	4
Journal	Public Health
Volume	226
Early online date	27 Nov 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2023.10.037
Publication status	Published - Jan 2024

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Keywords

Childhood obesity
COVID-19
Hong Kong children
Longitudinal study
Remission of obesity

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10.1016/j.puhe.2023.10.037Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

KM Yip et al_Dynamics of childhood obesity in Hong Kong throughout the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the school closures_3 yr longitudinal study
Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Final published version, 337 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Cite this

Yip, K. M., So, H. K., Wong, W. H. S., Wong, R. S., Tung, K. T. S., Tso, W. W. Y., Wong, I. C. K., Yam, J. C., Kwan, M. Y. W., Fung, G. P. G., Wong, S. W. S., & Ip, P. (2024). Dynamics of childhood obesity in Hong Kong throughout the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the school closures: a 3-year longitudinal study. Public Health, 226, 80-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2023.10.037

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abstract = "Objective: This study is to evaluate if there is any difference in the balance between incidence of and remission from overweight/obesity in Hong Kong school-age children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic over three years. Methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study that involved children aged 6–16 years from a database of the School Physical Fitness Award Scheme. Results: 2765 students were longitudinally followed up for two years. The prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity was increased between the 2019 and 2021 academic years (P < 0.001). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of obesity remission significantly reduced by 7.9 % (P = 0.003), at a background of a plateau of obesity among children and adolescents. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence on the impact of school closure and home confinement as a standard infection control measure for the prevention of COVID-19, which are likely to break the balance between incidence of and remission from childhood obesity.",

keywords = "Childhood obesity, COVID-19, Hong Kong children, Longitudinal study, Remission of obesity",

author = "Yip, {K. M.} and H.K. So and Wong, {W. H.S.} and Wong, {R. S.} and Tung, {K. T.S.} and Tso, {W. W.Y.} and Wong, {I. C.K.} and Yam, {J. C.} and Kwan, {M. Y.W.} and Fung, {G. P.G.} and Wong, {S. W.S.} and P. Ip",

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doi = "10.1016/j.puhe.2023.10.037",

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AU - Yip, K. M.

AU - So, H.K.

AU - Wong, W. H.S.

AU - Wong, R. S.

AU - Tung, K. T.S.

AU - Tso, W. W.Y.

AU - Wong, I. C.K.

AU - Yam, J. C.

AU - Kwan, M. Y.W.

AU - Fung, G. P.G.

AU - Wong, S. W.S.

AU - Ip, P.

N1 - Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

PY - 2024/1

Y1 - 2024/1

N2 - Objective: This study is to evaluate if there is any difference in the balance between incidence of and remission from overweight/obesity in Hong Kong school-age children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic over three years. Methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study that involved children aged 6–16 years from a database of the School Physical Fitness Award Scheme. Results: 2765 students were longitudinally followed up for two years. The prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity was increased between the 2019 and 2021 academic years (P < 0.001). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of obesity remission significantly reduced by 7.9 % (P = 0.003), at a background of a plateau of obesity among children and adolescents. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence on the impact of school closure and home confinement as a standard infection control measure for the prevention of COVID-19, which are likely to break the balance between incidence of and remission from childhood obesity.

AB - Objective: This study is to evaluate if there is any difference in the balance between incidence of and remission from overweight/obesity in Hong Kong school-age children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic over three years. Methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study that involved children aged 6–16 years from a database of the School Physical Fitness Award Scheme. Results: 2765 students were longitudinally followed up for two years. The prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity was increased between the 2019 and 2021 academic years (P < 0.001). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of obesity remission significantly reduced by 7.9 % (P = 0.003), at a background of a plateau of obesity among children and adolescents. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence on the impact of school closure and home confinement as a standard infection control measure for the prevention of COVID-19, which are likely to break the balance between incidence of and remission from childhood obesity.

KW - Childhood obesity

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KW - Remission of obesity

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Dynamics of childhood obesity in Hong Kong throughout the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the school closures: a 3-year longitudinal study

Abstract

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Keywords

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