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Childhood obesity rates climbed during pandemic
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Merideth Bucher
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Airdate September 29, 2021
The U.S. has an obesity epidemic and the problem has been made worse by the pandemic. A small Harvard study showed an average weight gain in adults of almost 1.5 pounds each month, which would add up to about 25 pounds during the height of the pandemic.
Children have not escaped the pandemic weight gain, in fact, because they have spent time away from school and activities the potential for gaining weight gained steam. One researcher is calling the rise in childhood obesity as ‘staggering.’ With obesity affecting more than one in six children, parents and caregivers are looking for solutions.
Appearing on Smart Talk Wednesday to provide context to this issue are Dr. Marsha Novick, MD, board-certified family physician and an obesity medicine specialist with Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, Susan Gilbert, RD/N and board certified specialist in obesity and weight management (nutrition) with Penn State Health Hershey Children’s Hospital, Dr. Jennifer Dorau, Psy.D, a licensed psychologist with the Adolescent Medicine Department of Penn State Health, and Michael Nelson, an exercise physiologist with Penn State Health.
