Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Nevada, USA
Research Article
The Impact of COVID-19 on Pediatric Obesity in Southern Nevada
Author(s): Jocy-Anna Chevalier, Chad L. Cross, Rebecca Scherr and Sheniz Moonie*
Background: During March of 2020, schools in Nevada were issued a lockdown mandate. During the same year,
16% of children aged 10 to 17 years were documented as obese in Nevada. The purpose of this study was to evaluate
the short term impact of the pandemic on weight change among a clinical subset of pediatric youth residing
in Southern Nevada.
Methods: Data were assessed for significant changes in BMI category overall and by race and insurance type. The
McNemar-Bowker test was utilized to examine categorical BMI changes from pre to during pandemic timeframes
and cross tabulated with the appropriate comparative variable. A two sample test for differences in proportions
was used to compare insurance coverage groups.
Results: Overall, 493 (26.2%) patients increased their BMI category. Specifically, of t.. View More»