Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Body Mass Index, Weight, and Height of Infants and Toddlers: An Infant Survey

Abstract

BackgroundThe body mass index (BMI) of preschool children from 4 years of age through primary school has increased since the Great East Japan Earthquake, but that of children aged under 3 years has not been studied. This study evaluated how the anthropometrics of younger children changed following the earthquake.MethodsHeight and weight data of children living in northeast Japan were collected from 3-, 6-, 18-, and 42-month child health examinations. We compared the changes in BMI, weight, and height among infants affected by the earthquake between their 3- and 6-month health examinations, toddlers affected at 21–30 months of age (affected groups), and children who experienced the earthquake after their 42-month child health examination (unaffected group). A multilevel model was used to calculate the BMI at corresponding ages and to adjust for the actual age at the 3-month health examination, health examination interval, and gestational age.ResultsWe recruited 8,479 boys and 8,218 girls living in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate Prefectures. In the infants affected between their 3- and 6-month health examinations in Fukushima, the change in BMI at 42 months of age was greater than among the unaffected children. In the toddlers affected at 21–30 months of age in Fukushima, the change in BMI was greater, but changes in weight and height were less.ConclusionsAffected infants and toddlers in Fukushima suggested some growth disturbances and early adiposity rebound, which can cause obesity. The future growth of children affected by disasters should be followed carefully.

Impact of Natural Disaster on Health of Children: Empirical Evidence from Nepal’s Earthquake

“…Similarly, after the Great East Japan Earthquake, one of the cities in Rikuzentaka was most devastated by obesity prevalence, but BMI increased in children in temporary housing compared with permanent housing (Moriyama et al, 2018). On the contrary, Yokomichi et al (2018) found that Fukushima-affected babies and toddlers showed signs of development disruption and early adiposity rebound which can lead to obesity.…”

“…These studies conclude that the exposed children normally had higher BMI and obesity prevalence as compared to the children not exposed to the disaster. Only a few studies focus on physical growth in early childhood (0-3 years) with similar conclusions (Ono et al, 2018;Yokomichi et al, 2018). Although most of these studies utilize longitudinal data, they compare the growth outcomes between the affected and unaffected children before and after the disaster without using robust statistical/econometric methods for causal analysis.…”

Supporting adolescents’ mental health during COVID-19 by utilising lessons from the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake

“…The major categories of this impact are (1) obesity, (2) sedentary behaviour, and (3) psychological distress. Among children and adolescents after the Great East Japan Earthquake, there are the previous studies by Kawasaki et al ( 2020 ), Ohira et al ( 2019 ), Kuniyoshi et al ( 2019 ), Takahashi and Tsubokura ( 2018 ), Yokomichi et al ( 2018 ), Moriyama et al ( 2018 ), Isojima et al ( 2017 ), Kikuya et al ( 2017 ), Zheng et al ( 2017 ), Yokomichi et al ( 2016 ), Kawasaki et al ( 2015 ) and Kawasaki et al ( 2014 ) on obesity. And there are previous studies on the sedentary behavior by Goodwin et al ( 2020 ), Itagaki et al ( 2017 ) and Okazaki et al ( 2015 ).…”

Thinking and Acting with School Children in Fukushima: Implementation of a Participatory Theater Approach and Analysis of the Experiences of Teachers

“…In the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, it is stated that “Children and youth are agents of change and should be given the space and modalities to contribute to disaster risk reduction, in accordance with legislation, national practice and educational curricula” (4) . Although scientific evidence is accumulating around the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear accident on children’s physical and mental health (5) , (6) and more recently on their social life including bullying (7) , not much has been reported about the roles that children are taking in the disaster restoration.…”