ESPE Abstracts

These authors published (Bol. S Vasco- Nav Pediatr 2016; 48: 12-16) the situation of this cohort is well characterized in relation to weight, regular school exercise and/or going to the school cafeteria. It was shown that, although the population was of a medium-high socioeconomic level, the overweight situation was lower among children with regular school exercise, with no evident influence between those exposed or not to the school cafeteria.

Goals: Reevaluate the same cohort of schoolchildren in a post-pandemic situation, assessing whether it has been affected and whether the cohort exposed to regulated exercise and the school cafeteria is in a different situation.

Material and Methods: Comparative cross-sectional study of the same cohort in two different historical periods. 1st school quarter of 2016 and 1st school quarter of 2021. Case traceability and pairwise comparison. Variables studied: age, sex, weight, height, attendance at school cafeteria and regulated physical activity.

Results: Medium-high socioeconomic level of the cohort. Number of cases studied 843. 573 girls (68%). Age 5-15 years. Regulated physical exercise 631 (75%). Daily school cafeteria 381 cases (45%). Dining room + physical exercise 272 cases (32% of the total 71% of those in the dining room). Of those who do regular physical exercise, 283 stay in the dining room (45%). No significant differences in cohort distribution TOTALvsPhysical exercise with respect to the dining variable (X2 p: 0.27). 90% of the exposed cohort maintained regular pre- and post-pandemic physical activity After the pandemic, BMI (Z score) increased in the entire cohort and in all groups, sexes and ages, but less significantly in children who do regulated physical activity (p: 0.001) without influence of the dining room (p: 0.45)

Conclusions: The pandemic confinement led to an increase in weight and BMI in all age groups, but the existence of regulated physical activity that they have subsequently maintained is a protective factor. Going to the dining room does not represent a risk/benefit factor in our study.