Children's Rates of BMI Change Prepandemic and During Two COVID‐19 Pandemic Periods, IQVIA AEMR, January 2018‐November 2021

Many U.S. youth experienced accelerated weight gain during the early COVID‐19 pandemic. Using an ambulatory electronic health record dataset, we compared children's rates of BMI change in three periods: pre-pandemic (January 2018‐February 2020), early pandemic (March‐December 2020), and later pandemic (January‐November 2021). In this sizeable geographically‐diverse cohort of U.S. youth, accelerated rates of BMI change observed during 2020 were largely attenuated in 2021. Positive rates indicate continued weight gain rather than loss, albeit at a slower rate. Nevertheless, childhood obesity prevalence remained high, which raises concern about the long‐term consequences of excess weight and underscores the importance of healthy lifestyle interventions.