COVID-19 pandemic directly influences food behavior promoting body weight gain

Abstract

Background and Aims: Obesity is a multifactorial disease affecting approximately 650 million individuals worldwide, and recent studies suggest that obesity is a poor prognostic factor for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Social restrictions during pandemics can impact eat-ing behavior. Herein, we aimed to investigate the impact of altered eating habits during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to body weight gain. Methods: This observational study administered an online questionnaire twice to the same volunteers at a six-month interval. In the first and second surveys, 232 and 76 volunteers, respectively, answered questions regarding food intake frequency and habits, physical activity levels, and a per-ception of changes when compared with the pre-pandemic period. Pearson’s Chi-square test was performed for each variable, followed by logistic regression analysis. Results: Overweight individuals experienced anxiety, favoring increased fast-food consumption. Logistic regression revealed that as the body mass index (BMI) increased, the potential for body weight gain increased gradually. Moreover, the consumption of legumes was associ-ated with the maintenance or loss of body weight. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings indicated that the social restriction due to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted food intake, promoting changes in body weight gain that could further aggravate the ex-isting obesity epidemic.