Introduction

the COVID-19 pandemic has brought socioeconomic, behavioral and clinical losses that can compromise the nutritional status of children, and studies on the subject are essential.

Objective

to assess the Body Mass Index of preschool children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

the data in this study comes from a cohort of children created to prospectively investigate determinants of growth and development in the period from birth to 1,000 days of life in a municipality in the interior of Paraíba, Brazil. For this study, data were collected from children at 4 years of age examining repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child life. Data on the children (biological characteristics, health conditions, food consumption, screen time, behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, satisfaction with school and home life) and their mothers (overweight/obesity, sociodemographic characteristics, childcare, attitudes and practices related to the COVID-19 pandemic) were included, and the Body Mass Index-for-age average (Z-score) was compared using hierarchical multiple linear regression.

Results

not breastfeeding in the first hour of life (p = 0.046) and regular consumption of filled cookies, sweets or candies (p = 0.042) were the characteristics of the children that represented the highest means of the outcome. Children whose mothers were diagnosed as overweight/obese (p = 0.034), who had not completed high school (p = 0.042), who had difficulty caring for the child and guiding them in health aspects (p = 0.010), as well as those whose mothers needed psychological care (p = 0.047) and mental health medication (p = 0.036) during the COVID-19 pandemic, also had higher mean scores.

Conclusion

maternal mental health (psychological care and use of medication) during the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the child’s nutritional status.

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