We are slowly seeing the quarantine ending all over the world, and that means that we are starting to notice the repercussions that have happened due to it. COVID-19 brought a halt to travel, time with friends and family and shopping. Planes were grounded, everyone was stuck in their home, and all you could do was shop online and wait weeks for an order to come. While we know that this is having major impacts on the economy of countries all over the world, it is also affecting the health of children everywhere.

When schools, sport fields, and playgrounds were closed, children had very little options when it came to physical activity. They also became really bored, and when people are bored, they tend to snack a lot. A stressed and busy mom also may have the tendency to offer more snacks for a few moments of peace. This has led to weight gain in children. A study was done by Total Shape, that found that the average American child living on the east-coast of the US had gained 7lbs during quarantine.

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This was not healthy weight gain either, but it was due to a lack of regular exercise and a change in their diet. It found that 53% of the weight gain was not being able to get out and do some physical activities and 31% was from eating more than they usually do. The study surveyed 5,000 east-coast parents in order to come to the average weight gain number.

While 7 lbs was the average, it was not the biggest weight gain that was seen. Parents in New Jersey had found that their children had gained an average of 10.2 lbs during the quarantine. New Jersey was followed closely by Massachusetts and New York with the most weight gained. Maine and Connecticut had the lowest weight gain coming in at just 6 lbs and 5 lbs respectively.

Parents also admitted that they were worried about the weight their children had gained during this time and the most popular and simple answer was that children were not in school. They were missing that regular activity of going to school, regular gym classes and just regular recess play that would help them from not putting on the weight.

Total Shape didn’t just discover the problem, they are working on a way to help fix it. They have come up with a program for children and their families on eating healthy and exercising. They had some of their personal trainers create a 5-step guide to encourage children to get out there and eat right. They have also created easy exercise programs that the whole family can do from inside of their home.

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