Survey: Children's Health Affected By Covid - 19
A survey of school nurses in Japan shows that the coronavirus pandemic has adversely affected the health of students at 40 percent of elementary, junior and senior high schools.
The Japanese Medical and Dental Practitioners for the Improvement of Medical Care conducted the survey. Nurses at about 4,900 schools, or 20 percent of the nationwide total, replied based on the results of checkups conducted in fiscal 2020.
Nurses at 40 percent of these schools said the spread of the virus had an impact on children.
The survey allowed for multiple answers. Forty-six percent of respondents said they saw an increase in the number of obese children. Thirty-six percent said they saw an increase in children suffering from a decline in eyesight.
The nurses cited poor dietary habits and an increase in the amount of time spent gaming as some of the contributing factors.
Nurses at 14 percent of the schools said there was an increase in the number of children with dental problems.
Hashimoto Kenichi, a board member of the Medical Association, Tokyo Dental Insurance, took part in the survey. He said children with poor health were often neglected at home, or faced other domestic problems.
He said the health of those children appears to have worsened during the pandemic, as less support was available with schools closed. He called for a speedy response.