Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab.  2023 Jun;28(2):124-130. 10.6065/apem.2244228.114.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on the physique of school-age children in Japan

• Takaya J
• Higashino H
• Takaya R
• Sakaguchi H
• Tanoue J
• Higashide T
• Moriguchi H
• Nakao M
• Takai Y

• KMID: 2543293
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.6065/apem.2244228.114

Abstract

Purpose
Schools in Japan were closed nationwide from March to May 2020 because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many suspect that this school closure affected children’s mental and physical health. We investigated changes in school-age children’s physiques to determine the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions on their health.
Methods
Data were extracted from a database of school physical examinations in Osaka elementary and junior high schools for 4 consecutive years from 2018 to 2021. The following characteristics were analyzed: short stature, tall stature, underweight, mild obesity, middle grade obesity, and severe obesity. The paired Student t-test was used to compare school examination data in the prepandemic period (2018–2019), pandemic lockdown (2019–2020), and post-lockdown period (2020–2021).
Results
Obesity rates in elementary school students aged 6–12 years, particularly in boys, were significantly higher during the lockdown than they were in 2019. After the pandemic, the tall stature rate continued to rise, while rates of short stature and underweight decreased in both sexes in 2020. In junior high school students aged 12–15 years, rates of obesity and underweight tended to decrease in 2020. However, these rates rebounded and rose in 2021 when the lockdown was lifted.
Conclusion
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, elementary school students gained weight, while junior high school students lost weight. The lockdown that was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic had an unfavorable effect on weight gain, particularly in young school-age children.

Keyword

Obesity; School health; Short stature

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Detection rate of developmental abnormalities in the physique of elementary school students. Data were extracted from school screenings from 2016 to 2021. (A) Elementary school male students. (B) Elementary school female students.

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  Fig. 2. Detection rate of developmental abnormalities in the physique of junior high school students. Data were extracted from school screenings from 2016 to 2021. (A) Junior high school male students. (B) Junior high school female students.

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  Fig. 3. Detection rate of severe obesity based on school screenings from 2016 to 2021.

Reference

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