Changes in Weight and Nutritional Habits in Adults with Obesity during the “Lockdown” Period Caused by the COVID-19 Virus Emergency

Abstract

<jats:p>Our aim is evaluating the changes in weight and dietary habits in a sample of outpatients with obesity after 1 month of enforced lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Italy. In this observational retrospective study, the patients of our Obesity Unit were invited to answer to a 12-question multiple-choice questionnaire relative to weight changes, working activity, exercise, dietary habits, and conditions potentially impacting on nutritional choices. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate the associations among weight/BMI changes and the analyzed variables. A total of 150 subjects (91.5%) completed the questionnaire. Mean self-reported weight gain was ≈1.5 kg (p &lt; 0.001). Lower exercise, self-reported boredom/solitude, anxiety/depression, enhanced eating, consumption of snacks, unhealthy foods, cereals, and sweets were correlated with a significantly higher weight gain. Multiple regression analyses showed that increased education (inversely, β = −1.15; 95%CI −2.13, −0.17, p = 0.022), self-reported anxiety/depression (β = 1.61; 0.53, 2.69, p = 0.004), and not consuming healthy foods (β = 1.48; 0.19, 2.77, p = 0.026) were significantly associated with increased weight gain. The estimated direct effect of self-reported anxiety/depression on weight was 2.07 kg (1.07, 3.07, p &lt; 0.001). Individuals with obesity significantly gained weight 1 month after the beginning of the quarantine. The adverse mental burden linked to the COVID-19 pandemic was greatly associated with increased weight gain.</jats:p>

Risk Factors Related to Weight Gain for Chines During Home Confinement in COVID-19 Pandemic: An Observational Retrospective Study

“…Through analyzing the difference of four groups (underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity) in BMI change and weight change before and during the home con nement, we found unexpectedly that participants of normal weight gained more weight than obese objects, resulting from small samples in obese group (n = 19). Likewise, our survey indicated that self-reported depression was related to gain weight, which coincided with the previous study (6).…”

“…However, emotional and lifestyle changes during self-quarantine might increase the risks of obesity during quarantine (2)(3)(4). Home con nement for several months could lead to weight gain, further increasing incidence of obesity (5).To many patients in Italy, weight gain was found related to increased self-reported anxiety or depression and not consuming healthy food in obese adults according to multiple regression analysis (6). In Poland, almost 30% of people gain weight of 3.0 ± 1.6 kg, and it seemed that overweight, obese and older individuals were more likely to gain weight (7).…”

Preliminary Trajectories in Dietary Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Public Health Call to Action to Face Obesity

“…A similar cross-sectional observation on a larger sample size, including subjects aged more than 12 years old belonging to every region, reported an increased egg, meat, and pulse consumption by up to 15% [ 14 ]. Similarly, the majority (81%) of the overweight Italians surveyed by Pellegrino et al [ 16 ] showed equal or greater consumption of overall protein sources than pre-COVID-19. Again, a quarter of the 700 Chilean investigated by Reyes-Olavarría et al declared that they consumed red and white meat more than 3 times/week [ 20 ].…”

“…In this regard, the only longitudinal observation, carried out by Ghosh et al on a fairly small Indian sample, revealed a 21% increase in the daily consumption of grains and rice [ 13 ]. Similarly, seven cross-sectional observations showed that a large majority consumed higher amounts of cereals [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. In particular, homemade pizza, fresh bread, pasta, and rice were found to rule the trend among the Italian and Spanish surveys performed over a wide range of ages and sample sizes (increases by up to 40% and 39%, respectively) [ 14 , 15 ].…”

For the Greater Good? The Devastating Ripple Effects of the Covid-19 Crisis

“…These strategies can diminish the effects and over time (in part) counteract the negative consequences of the lockdown. Unfortunately, the lockdowns and related increase in anxiety, depression, and PTSD ( Guessoum et al, 2020 ), and as many sports facilities were closed this related to changes in life style such as eating more, and sporting less ( Di Renzo et al, 2020 ; Górnicka et al, 2020 ; Pellegrini et al, 2020 ). Paradoxically, functional coping styles in order to offset some of these negative effects have been blocked in some ways due to the measures and this may have led to downward spirals in terms of (mental) health ( Ibrahimagić et al, 2020 ).…”