Global Impact of COVID-19 on Weight and Weight-Related Behaviors in the Adult Population: A Scoping Review

Chew, Han Shi Jocelyn; Lopez, Violeta

doi:10.3390/ijerph18041876

Cited by 92 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(218 reference statements)

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“…The indirect consequences of the pandemic have paradoxically, made the situation even worse as more people have worsened than improved their diets [ 17 ], and less people are as active as they were pre-pandemic, linked to more working from home, so less active travel, as well as anxieties in many individuals in spending time outdoors. There is emerging evidence to suggest pandemic-associated weight gain, potentially more marked in younger people, in women compared to men, and in people from more deprived communities [ 18 •, 19 ].…”

Section: Pandemic Has Likely Worsened Obesity Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obesity as a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19: Summary of the Best Evidence and Implications for Health Care

Sattar

Valabhji

2021

Curr Obes Rep

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Purpose of Review To collate the best evidence from several strands—epidemiological, genetic, comparison with historical data and mechanistic information—and ask whether obesity is an important causal and potentially modifiable risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes. Recent Findings Several hundred studies provide powerful evidence that body mass index (BMI) is a strong linear risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes, with recent studies suggesting ~5-10% higher risk for COVID-19 hospitalisation per every kg/m2 higher BMI. Genetic data concur with hazard ratios increasing by 14% per every kg/m2 higher BMI. BMI to COVID-19 links differ markedly from prior BMI-infection associations and are further supported as likely causal by multiple biologically plausible pathways. Summary Excess adiposity appears to be an important, modifiable risk factor for adverse COVID-19 outcomes across all ethnicities. The pandemic is also worsening obesity levels. It is imperative that medical systems worldwide meet this challenge by upscaling investments in obesity prevention and treatments.

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Section: Pandemic Has Likely Worsened Obesity Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obesity as a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19: Summary of the Best Evidence and Implications for Health Care

Sattar

Valabhji

2021

Curr Obes Rep

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“…It has been observed that people with obesity presented worsened sleep in lockdown [ 11 ]. A shorter sleep duration is a predictor of weight gain, as suggested in a systematic scoping review [ 12 ]. Moreover, those with negative changes in sleep quality reported more weight gain than those with positive changes [ 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep, Physical Activity, and Diet of Adults during the Second Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece

Papazisis

Nikolaidis

Trakada

2021

IJERPH

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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible correlations between sleep, physical activity, and diet in the general population of Greece during the second lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. A web-based questionnaire including 28 items was completed by 494 adults (age 31.5 ± 12.4 years). Half of the participants (49.8%) reported good, 44.1% moderate, and 6.1% bad quality of sleep, whereas 17.2% answered that the quality of sleep improved, 56.5% did not change, and 26.3% worsened compared to a normal week. Compared to normal, sleep duration in lockdown increased by 0.24 h (95% CI; 0.13, 0.35; p < 0.001, d = 0.198). More under-weight (32.4%) and obese (34.1%) respondents reported worsened quality of sleep in lockdown compared with normal (25.6%) and overweight participants (22.7%) (p = 0.006, Cramer’s φ = 0.191). A small effect for BMI group on sleep duration was observed (p = 0.011, η2 = 0.023), where overweight and obese slept less (–0.44 h and –0.66 h, respectively) than normal weight participants. Subjects with the highest percentage of increased food consumption reported decreased sleep duration (p = 0.012) and worsened sleep quality (p = 0.003). Compared with a normal week, physical activity of a high and moderate intensity decreased for 43.0% and 37.0% of participants, did not change in 32.9% and 36.1% of participants, and increased in 24.1% 26.9%, respectively, whereas walking time decreased in 31.3%, did not change in 27.3%, and increased in 41.5% of participants. Increased high and moderate intensity physical activity was related with an improvement in sleep quality (p < 0.001). Those with decreasing walking time reported the highest percentage of decreased sleep quality (p = 0.006) and worsened sleep quality (p = 0.016). In conclusion, both quality and quantity of sleep were impaired during the second lockdown and the observed changes were associated with diet and physical activity.

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“…Weight changes can be both beneficial and detrimental to health and wellbeing, and understanding the factors associated with these changes is crucial for the development of targeted interventions. Increased HFSS food intake, snacking and alcohol consumption have all been previously identified as important predictors of initial pandemic weight/BMI gain [7,9,10,12,[18][19][20][21]25]. Studies in the UK and internationally report large inter-individual variability in dietary changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic [46], which in turn have been associated with weight change [7,12,14].…”

Section: Comparison To Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, reports also suggest that despite significant proportions of people increasing weight and BMI (11.2-72.4%), many have also decreased weight and BMI (7.2-51.4%) during the start of the pandemic [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. These initial weight trajectories during COVID-19 are associated with several socio-demographic, COVID-19-related and behavioural factors including age, gender, initial BMI, pandemic living and working conditions, diet, physical activity and alcohol intake [7,9,10,12,[18][19][20][21]. Short-term shifts in health behaviours can result in small, yet meaningful changes in bodyweight, as seen with seasonal holiday weight gain during the winter months, which accounts for a large proportion of annual weight gain [22,23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on weight and BMI among UK adults: a longitudinal analysis of data from the HEBECO study

Dicken

Mitchell

Vay

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundCOVID-19-related restrictions impacted weight and weight-related factors during the initial months of the pandemic. However, longitudinal analyses are scarce.MethodsAn online, longitudinal study was conducted among self-selected UK adults (n=1,818), involving three surveys during 2020 (May-June, August-September, November-December), covering height, weight and sociodemographic, COVID-19-related and behavioural measures. Data were analysed using generalised estimating equations.ResultsSelf-reported average weight and body mass index (BMI) significantly increased from May-June to August-September (74.95kg to 75.33kg, 26.22kg/m2 to 26.36kg/m2, both p<0.001), and then significantly decreased to November-December (to 75.06kg, 26.27kg/m2, both p<0.01), comparable to May-June levels (p=0.274/0.204). However, there was great interindividual variation, with 37.0%/26.7% reporting an increase and 34.5%/26.3% reporting a decrease in weight/BMI greater than 0.5kg/0.5kg/m2, respectively from May-June to November-December. The average weight/BMI increase was 3.64kg (95% confidence interval: 3.32,3.97)/1.64kg/m2 (1.49,1.79), and the average weight/BMI decrease was 3.59kg (3.34,3.85)/1.53kg/m2 (1.42,1.63). In fully adjusted models, increase in weight/BMI across surveys was significantly negatively associated with initial BMI, and positively associated with monthly high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) snacks intake and alcohol consumption, and for BMI only, older age. However, associations were time-varying, such that lower initial BMI, higher HFSS snacks intake and high-risk alcohol consumption were associated with maintenance of increased weight/BMI from August-September to November-December.ConclusionThe average weight/BMI of UK adults increased during the early pandemic months, before returning to baseline levels in November-December 2020. However, this masks substantial interindividual variation in weight/BMI trajectories, indicating vulnerabilities associated with changes in food and alcohol consumption throughout the pandemic.What is currently known from previous studiesSmall increases in average weight/BMI have been reported (1.57kg/0.31kg/m2) during the initial three months of the pandemic.Changes in weight/BMI during the early months were not uniform, with significant proportions increasing (11.2-72.4%) as well as decreasing (7.2-51.4%) weight/BMI.Weight/BMI change has been associated with several sociodemographic, lifestyle and behavioural factors.Whether these weight/BMI changes persist over longer durations of the pandemic, and the factors associated with any long-term weight/BMI change is largely unknown.What this paper addsIn UK adults, average weight/BMI first increased and then decreased from May to December 2020 during the pandemic, but this masks large interindividual variability in average changes.Initial BMI at the start of the pandemic and health behavioural factors such as alcohol consumption and high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) snacks intake were significantly associated with a change in weight/BMI.The strength of the association of alcohol consumption, initial BMI and HFSS snacks intake with weight/BMI change was dependent on the stage of the pandemic, with more pronounced differences becoming apparent during the latter part of 2020.

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Global Impact of COVID-19 on Weight and Weight-Related Behaviors in the Adult Population: A Scoping Review

Cited by 92 publications

References 37 publications

Obesity as a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19: Summary of the Best Evidence and Implications for Health Care

Obesity as a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19: Summary of the Best Evidence and Implications for Health Care

Sleep, Physical Activity, and Diet of Adults during the Second Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on weight and BMI among UK adults: a longitudinal analysis of data from the HEBECO study

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