Back to ‘normal’? BMI, physical fitness and health-related quality of life of children from North East England before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdowns

We assessed whether changes in children’s body mass index (BMI), physical fitness and health-related quality of life observed post-2020 United Kingdom COVID-19 lockdown remained 12 and 18 months later. Twenty-meter shuttle run test (20mSRT), handgrip strength, standing broad jump, sit-and-reach, height, body mass, and health-related quality of life (Kidscreen27 questionnaire) were measured in 90 children (8-9 years) during October 2019 (‘T0’), November 2020 (‘T1’), November 2021 (‘T2’) and June 2022 (‘T3’). Mixed-effects models showed age- and sex-normalised BMI increased from T0 (mean: 0.71) to T1 (0.97), remaining elevated at T2 (0.95) and T3 (0.89). Decreases in 20mSRT performance were observed from T0 (22.0) to T1 (19.3), then increased at T2 (23.5) and T3 (28.3). Standing broad jump and handgrip strength increased over time. The proportion of children with overweight/obesity increased from T0 (32%) to T3 (48%). Health-related quality of life decreased for ‘Physical Wellbeing’ yet increased for ‘Autonomy & Parents’. Our findings highlight that lockdowns may have had lasting implications for children’s health, and the urgent need to reduce overweight and obesity in North East England. Improving health and fitness behaviours to maximise long-term health outcomes and build resilience to future emergencies and disruptions to health behaviours is also paramount.