ST. LOUIS _ The past few years have shown signs that alarmingly high childhood obesity rates in the U.S. may finally be stabilizing. But that may change if school closures continue into December, according to a new study by Washington University.
The childhood obesity rate may increase 2.4% _ equal to 1.27 million children _ if school closures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus continue into December, according to the study recently published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science.
"The harsh reality is, for the coming months or longer, the majority of children in the U.S. may not fully resume their daily physical activity routines due to the nationwide closure of schools, gyms, recreation centers and parks, and cancellation of sports activities," said Ruopeng An, an assistant professor at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University and author of the study.
