A new study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a large increase in obesity in American children and teenagers.Childhood obesity has been increasing for many years.The new study suggests that the rate of obesity quickened even more last year, especially among those who already were obese when the pandemic started.The results signal a "profound increase in weight gain for kids" and are very concerning, said Doctor Alyson Goodman.She is with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one of the authors of the study.The pandemic appears to be making the nation's obesity epidemic worse.Obesity can put people at risk for heart disease and high blood pressure.Overweight people are also at higher risk for severe coronavirus infection.The CDC on Thursday released the study, which is the largest yet to look at obesity during the pandemic.It found that about 22 percent of children and teenagers were obese last August.That is up from 19 percent from the year before.
