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The health of millions of Americans may have been affected by weight gain and lack of exercise during the pandemic, even though they avoided the acute dangers of Covid-19 infection, according to new data collected by obesity researchers – and the anecdotal experiences of family physicians – suggest.
“Ninety-eight percent of my day is, ‘You haven’t exercised, you’ve gained weight, and your diabetes is out of control. We have to help you in that regard, ”said Dr. Andrew Carroll, who is part of a multidisciplinary family practice in Chandler, Arizona. “It’s very rare that I cut back on my medications in the past year.”
In several cases, doctors have said that the main factors in deteriorating health are “lifestyle” factors, such as lack of exercise, poor diet and stress. More than 60% of American family physicians have seen an increase in obesity in their patients, according to a survey of 910 physicians by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Gaining weight is not necessarily unhealthy on its own. However, being overweight is associated with a number of chronic health conditions, such as an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Obesity is also associated with increased risks of Covid-19.
“The overwhelming stress of living in a pandemic really has an impact [patients’] medical health significantly, ”Carroll said. Typical patients “gain in the order of 10 to 30 lbs of weight,” he said.
The immediate impact of Covid-19 in the United States has been disastrous. More than 543,000 Americans have died from Covid-19 and 29 million have been infected. For every person who dies, an estimated nine others cry. In addition, millions of people may experience the potentially crippling effects of “long-haul Covid” or depression due to the isolation caused by the pandemic.
But those who have survived the pandemic so far may also face long-term health consequences. Patients “eat a lot more carbohydrate-rich foods, they gain weight and other medical conditions suffer from it,” said Dr. Sterling Ransone Jr, president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), whose the practice is in rural Deltaville, Virginia. “It’s mainly because of lifestyle issues.”
Because so many people across such a large swath of the population are affected, the implications of population weight gain could be significant. More than 42% of American adults are already living with obesity, a proportion that has increased by 12% over the past 18 years, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Because of stressors, I see a lot of people turning to their comfort foods, whether it’s macaroni and cheese or a bag of Chex Mix,” said Rascone.
In surveys by obesity researchers, people have self-reported more snacks, junk food and meal delivery amid the pandemic. Counterintuitively, the consumption of certain healthy foods, such as fruits and home-cooked meals, has also increased.
But, even for people who consume healthier foods, the disruption of daily routines – like going to the grocery store, running errands, or walking through a large office – has put an end to the “ambient exercise” that people have. people once did while going about their day-to-day occupations.
Public health measures to contain the pandemic “have always been extremely destabilizing,” said Rachel Rodgers, associate professor of psychology at Northeastern University.
The changes in eating habits could be especially long-lasting for groups, such as “children, teens and new students who are making the transition to independent life decisions,” said Rodgers. “Making it happen at this point could be very important in their lifespan.”
Evidence of how people’s habits changed during the pandemic is only emerging. Studies on diet and exercise have been scaled back during the pandemic, with subjects, researchers and institutions all reluctant to come in person for studies. This means that much of the research into people’s habits has been left to data from Bluetooth fitness devices and surveys.
“Basically you lock people in a room and see how their psychological factors and health factors are going to vary,” said Surabhi Bhutani, assistant professor in the University’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. of State of San Diego in California. “It really is like a natural experience.”
Studies from FitBit, a wearable fitness tracker, have found an overall decrease in daily steps and minutes of activity, even as people step up their daily meditation, yoga and running practices, which do not require a gym. sport. Likewise, a research letter in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that the number of footsteps tracked by smartphones dropped by 27% globally within 30 days of the start of the pandemic.
A small study of 269 Americans using Bluetooth scales found that people gained an average of 1.5 lbs per month from February to May 2020. Extrapolated over a year, that could translate to 18 lbs of extra weight. Notably, the study was not representative of the United States. It mainly included middle-aged white participants, who were likely more health conscious.
Bhutani and his co-authors recently published a survey in the journal Nutrients, in which 40% of people reported gaining weight during the ‘peak block’ months of spring 2020. Although the average weight gain was only of 1.5 lbs, about a third continued to gain weight through the summer and early fall. This study also oversampled white participants compared to the general population.
Bhutani said that the one-year-old 40s can look like a phenomenon similar to weight gain during winter vacation, less so than the so-called “15-forties.”
Still, Rodgers stressed that health doesn’t necessarily mean rigid diet and exercise, but “getting where you are at.” She believes many people will return to more exercise and improved diets when the “external” stressors of the pandemic subside.
“It’s always important to remember that there are strengths, resilience, and behaviors that we can practice to try to protect ourselves,” she said.
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