[ti:Childhood Obesity in US Increased During Pandemic] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]A new study found that the COVID-19 pandemic [00:04.96]has led to a large increase in obesity [00:08.84]in American children and teenagers. [00:14.04]Childhood obesity has been increasing for many years. [00:18.72]The new study suggests that the rate of obesity [00:22.68]quickened even more last year, especially among those [00:27.20]who already were obese when the pandemic started. [00:32.96]The results signal a “profound increase in weight gain for kids” [00:38.40]and are very concerning, said Doctor Alyson Goodman. [00:42.64]She is with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [00:47.36]and one of the authors of the study. [00:51.68]The pandemic appears to be making the nation’s obesity epidemic worse. [00:57.76]Obesity can put people at risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. [01:02.64]Overweight people are also at higher risk for severe coronavirus infection. [01:10.80]The CDC on Thursday released the study, [01:14.64]which is the largest yet to look at obesity during the pandemic. [01:21.16]It found that about 22 percent of children [01:24.60]and teenagers were obese last August. [01:29.16]That is up from 19 percent from the year before. [01:33.32]Before the pandemic, children who were a healthy weight [01:37.24]gained an average of 1.5 kilograms a year. [01:42.28]That rose to 2.4 kilograms during the pandemic. [01:47.28]And for severely obese kids, expected yearly weight gain [01:52.40]went from 4 kilograms to 6.6 kilograms. [01:59.00]The rate of obesity increased the highest in ages 6 to 11. [02:05.60]Younger children are more dependent on their parents [02:09.16]and may have been more effected when schools [02:12.36]stopped in-person classes, the researchers said. [02:17.60]The research was based on an examination of medical records [02:21.64]of more than 432,000 kids and teens, ages 2 to 19. [02:29.68]They were weighed and measured at least twice before the pandemic [02:34.20]and at least once early in the pandemic. [02:38.72]There were some limits to the study. [02:41.04]It only included children who received medical care [02:45.44]before and during the pandemic, the researchers said. [02:50.92]It also did not look at the differences in weight gain [02:54.92]between racial and ethnic groups. [02:59.32]Earlier this week, the CDC said there are now 16 states [03:05.16]where at least 35 percent of the population is obese. [03:10.24]Most are in the southern part of the country. [03:14.40]I’m Dan Novak. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM