Childhood obesity has been on a noticeable rise since the 1990s, but researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center have seen an even more dramatic uptick in this disease since the pandemic began.
“Month-by-month weight gain doubled in kids across the country compared to their weight gain before 2020,” says Amanda E. Staiano, PhD, Director of Pediatric Obesity & Health Behavior Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical. “This is obviously a major public health concern since children with obesity have a much higher risk of developing asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, anxiety, and depression, among other serious health issues.”
To advance treatment for the more than 14 million children and adolescents diagnosed with obesity in the U.S., Staiano served as co-author for the inaugural release of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical practice guidelines on how to effectively treat pediatric obesity. Published in January of this year, the guidelines and its two technical reports highlight the science, safety, and effectiveness of evidence-based recommendations on obesity treatment for children age 2 years and older.
