Insight into Body Mass Index among School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Abstract Background: Several reports indicate that extended stay at home for online school as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic or other reasons may change the normal physical activity and body weight of school-age students. Previous studies revealed that almost 50% of school students complained of an increase or decrease of more than 3 kg of weight due to lower physical activity. This study aims to provide an insight into the body mass index (BMI) of school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective matched-longitudinal study was conducted in 2022 based on previous data on the BMI-for-age percentile in school students aged 6–18 years. These data were collected the year before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2021). Results: All the included students were Arabic (n = 53,580) and were not diagnosed with chronic illnesses. The outcomes showed that the overall percentage of students with normal weight was 54%, 56%, and 53% during 2019–2021 years, respectively. The frequencies of students with optimal BMI increased significantly in 2020 compared to 2019 (P < 0.01); however, there was no statistical significance with regard to normal body weight trends (P > 0.05) between 2019 and 2021. Overweight among students increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021), as almost 10% of the students were overweight in 2019 compared to 12% in 2020 and 2021 (P < 0.01). In addition, obese students increased in 2020–2021 compared to 2019 (15–17% vs. 10%, P < 0.01). In contrast, underweight trends among students declined from 26% reported in 2019 compared to 17–18% in 2020 and 2021 (P < 0.01). Conclusion: There are significant variations in Arabic school-age students regarding their BMI values. Obesity was highly detected among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic years compared to that in 2019, while underweight cases declined.