The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has raised worries about children’s weight gain, perhaps exacerbated by the absence of school, not to mention sports and other activities that used to give structure to the day and mark off some no-eating zones. Even when we’re not in the middle of a pandemic, there are many tensions around what to say and do at pediatric visits when a child’s weight is increasing too quickly, Perri Klass, MD, professor in NYU Langone’s Department of Pediatrics, writes in The New York Times.

Mary J. Messito, MD, director of the pediatric weight management program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and clinical associate professor in NYU Langone’s Department of Pediatrics, says, “My patients are suffering terribly.” They face many barriers to exercise because of fear of being exposed to COVID-19.

“I work and try to give people resources where they are,” says Dr. Messito, offering handouts and information about healthy food for people on limited budgets. She recommends in-home exercise programs and talks about how to mask up and go outside safely.

Read more from The New York Times.