Childhood obesity treatment during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic : – a retrospective controlled cohort study

Abstract Introduction: Obesity amongst children is a major health problem. At the outpatient paediatric clinic at Södertälje hospital in Region Stockholm, there is a large and well-established treatment model against childhood obesity. During spring 2020 all elective care in Region Stockholm, including visits to the obesity team, was cancelled for 3 months due to relocation of health care professionals because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Aim: To investigate whether the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic affected the outcome of childhood obesity treatment at one outpatient paediatric clinic in Region Stockholm. Methods: A retrospective controlled cohort study comparing two groups regarding results of first year of obesity treatment for children. One group had their first year of treatment during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and the control group before the pandemic. Data was retrieved from BORIS and complemented by a review of medical records. Results: Mean change in BMI SDS after one year of treatment in the Covid group was -0.10 units and in the control group -0.11 (ns). In the Covid group more patients quit the treatment programme and had a smaller number of visits to a nurse compared to controls. Conclusion: This study showed no difference in outcome regarding change in BMI SDS. However, it seems that the cancellation of visits might have affected the number of children lost to follow-up. Therefore, clinics should consider “digi-physical” care (e.g., via telephone, videocalls or other media) to secure the child and parents motivation and participation in the obesity treatment programme