The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental and physical health of children attending a paediatric weight management clinic

Background: Obesity is a global health problem. Given the widespread disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to assess its effect in children with chronic health conditions. This study assesses the health of obese paediatric patients enrolled in a weight management programme at a tertiary care hospital before the COVID-19 pandemic and then one year after the onset of the pandemic. Methodology: The researchers conducted a retrospective chart review of patients aged two to 17 years enrolled in a paediatric weight management clinic. They compared mental health outcomes (new referrals to psychology, social work, eating disorder programme, incidence of eating dysregulation, suicidal ideation or self-harm) and physical health outcomes (anthropometric measures) before the pandemic and then one year after the start of the pandemic. Results: Among the 334 children seen during either period, the number of psychology referrals (12.4% vs. 26.5%; p=0.002) and the composite mental health score (17.2% vs. 30.2%; p=0.005) increased during the pandemic compared to before. In a subgroup of children (n=30) for whom anthropometric measures were known in both time periods, the rate of decrease in body mass index z-score was lower (-1.5 [2.00] vs -0.3 [0.73]/year; p=0.002) and adiposity higher (-0.8 [4.64] vs 2.7 [5.54] %/year; p=0.043) during the pandemic. Overview: The pandemic affected the mental and physical health of obese children enrolled in a weight management clinic. The study shows a negative effect on mental health and less improvement in anthropometric measures, but future research, when patients return to clinic care, will examine our results in light of new objective measures.