Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42321251›Full record

Observational studyScientific reports2026

Changes in obesity and waist circumference in children and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yulika Yoshida-Montezuma, Charles D G Keown-Stoneman, Joseph Jamnik, Brendan T Smith, Roman Pabayo, Laura M Kinlin, Leigh M Vanderloo, Jessica Omand, Jonathon L Maguire, Catherine S Birken and 1 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01869530 (TARGet Kids!), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT01869530 recruitingnot on this map

TARGet Kids!: Measuring Nutrition in Young Preschool Children in the Primary Care Practice Setting

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorThe Hospital for Sick ChildrenRan2008 to 2030Enrolled14,000ConditionsNutritional Disorders, Obesity, Development
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Yulika Yoshida-MontezumaDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street W, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada.
Charles D G Keown-StonemanLi Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Joseph JamnikDivision of Paediatric Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Brendan T SmithDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Roman PabayoSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Laura M KinlinDivision of Paediatric Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Leigh M VanderlooParticipACTION, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jessica OmandSchool of Nutrition, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jonathon L MaguireLi Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Catherine S BirkenDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Laura N AndersonDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street W, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada. ln.anderson@mcmaster.ca.

Funding

CIHR WI1-179882
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted daily behaviours. We compared the annual change in obesity prevalence before and during the pandemic in children and parents. Participants were recruited from TARGet Kids! in Canada and followed prospectively. Each participant had at least one body mass index (BMI) measure before and during the pandemic. Marginal logistic models with piecewise functions were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for the association between year and obesity prevalence before (2015-2020) and during the pandemic (2020-2023). Among children (n = 1,163), in the 5 years pre-pandemic, the average annual increase in the odds of obesity was 18% per year (aOR = 1.18, 95%CI 1.02-1.36).This increased substantially early in the pandemic (aOR = 2.17, 95%CI 1.45-3.25), and during the second year of the pandemic it decreased (aOR = 0.66, 95%CI 0.46-0.93). Among parents (n = 653), pre-pandemic there was an annual increase in the odds of obesity (aOR = 1.27, 95%CI 1.12-1.42) but this plateaued during the early (aOR = 0.79, 95%CI 0.50-1.25) and later pandemic periods (aOR = 1.08, 95% CI:0.81-1.43). Increases in child obesity during the pandemic were greatest among lower income families and younger children. Obesity prevalence among children rose significantly early in the COVID-19 pandemic and waned in the second year but remained higher than pre-pandemic levels.Clinical Trial Registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov , ID NCT01869530.

Indexed as

COVID-19ObesityPediatric ObesityWaist CircumferenceBody Mass IndexCanadaChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansMaleOdds RatioPandemicsParentsPrevalenceProspective StudiesChildCOVID-19 pandemicObesityParent

Identifiers

PMID42321251
PMCPMC13558618

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.