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Article

Physical Changes of Preschool Children during COVID-19 School Closures in Fujian, China

by
Guobo Li
1,†,
Le Yang
2,†,
Xingyan Xu
2,†,
Mingjun Chen
2,
Yingying Cai
3,
Yeying Wen
2,
Xiaoxu Xie
2,
Xinyue Lu
2,
Suping Luo
2,
Shaowei Lin
2,*,
Huangyuan Li
2,* and
Siying Wu
2,*
1
Department of Child Healthcare Centre, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350001, China
2
School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
3
Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Fujian Children’s Hospital, Fuzhou 350014, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13699; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013699
Submission received: 6 September 2022 / Revised: 14 October 2022 / Accepted: 17 October 2022 / Published: 21 October 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity and Sports as Determinants of Health at All Ages from a Biological, Psychosocial, and Environmental Perspective)
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic may constitute an “obesogenic lifestyle” that results in exacerbating childhood obesity. However, studies investigating regional sociodemographic factors including different age groups or sexes in children with obesity are lacking. We aimed to clarify the high obesity prevalence populations of preschool children to provide a regional basis for children’s health policy during the COVID-19 school closures. From May to September 2019, a total of 29,518 preschool children were included in a large sample, multicenter cross-sectional study to explore physical status in Fujian Province by stratified cluster random sampling. In October 2019 and October 2020, we also conducted a cross-sectional study exploring physical development including changes in height, weight, and BMI of 1688 preschool children in Fuzhou before and after the COVID-19 school closures. Student’ s t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, or chi-square test was used to assess differences in physical development and overweight and obesity rates among preschool children before and after school closures. For regional factors, the weight of urban preschool children of all ages became higher after the outbreak (p (age 3–4) = 0.009; p (age 4–5) < 0.001; p (age 5–6) = 0.002). For sex factors, overweight and obesity in boys had a greater prevalence than in girls before and after the outbreak. In four age groups, overweight and obesity rates in the 5-year-old group (15.5% and 9.9%) were higher than before (11.4% and 6.0%). The weight and BMI of 4- to 5-year-old children also increased faster than before (p < 0.001). The COVID-19 pandemic has promoted the epidemic of childhood obesity. Living in urban/coastal (economically developed) areas, boys, and aged 4–6 years old may be a susceptible population to obesity development after the outbreak.
Keywords: weight; BMI; COVID-19; preschoolers; public health prevention weight; BMI; COVID-19; preschoolers; public health prevention

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MDPI and ACS Style

Li, G.; Yang, L.; Xu, X.; Chen, M.; Cai, Y.; Wen, Y.; Xie, X.; Lu, X.; Luo, S.; Lin, S.; et al. Physical Changes of Preschool Children during COVID-19 School Closures in Fujian, China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 13699. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013699

AMA Style

Li G, Yang L, Xu X, Chen M, Cai Y, Wen Y, Xie X, Lu X, Luo S, Lin S, et al. Physical Changes of Preschool Children during COVID-19 School Closures in Fujian, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(20):13699. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013699

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Guobo, Le Yang, Xingyan Xu, Mingjun Chen, Yingying Cai, Yeying Wen, Xiaoxu Xie, Xinyue Lu, Suping Luo, Shaowei Lin, and et al. 2022. "Physical Changes of Preschool Children during COVID-19 School Closures in Fujian, China" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 20: 13699. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013699

APA Style

Li, G., Yang, L., Xu, X., Chen, M., Cai, Y., Wen, Y., Xie, X., Lu, X., Luo, S., Lin, S., Li, H., & Wu, S. (2022). Physical Changes of Preschool Children during COVID-19 School Closures in Fujian, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(20), 13699. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013699

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