Gaining “The Quarantine 15:” Perceived versus observed weight changes in college students in the wake of COVID‐19

Abstract

Objective: Amidst restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19, jokes have surfaced regarding weight gain during the pandemic. The current study documents perceived changes since COVID-19 and compares these to observed longitudinal changes in reported weight, BMI, and how college students described their weight from January to April 2020. Method: Undergraduates (N = 90; 88% female) completed on-line assessments before and after students were required to leave campus due to COVID-19. Time 1 and Time 2 surveys collected demographic information, height, weight, and a Likert-scale rating to describe perceived weight, ranging from 1 = very underweight to 5 = very overweight (weight description). Time 2 surveys added questions for perceived changes since COVID-19 in body weight, eating, physical activity, various forms of screen time, and concerns about weight, shape, and eating. Results: Time 2 surveys indicated perceived increases in body weight, eating, and screen time, and decreases in physical activity along with increased concerns about weight, shape and eating since COVID-19. Longitudinal data indicated no significant change in weight, body mass index (BMI), or BMI category, but how participants described their weight changed significantly from January to April 2020. Compared to longitudinal changes in BMI category, students' weight description was significantly more likely to fall into a higher category from Time 1 to Time 2. Discussion: Shifts in how body weight is experienced in the wake of COVID-19 that do not align with observed changes in reported weight may reflect cognitive distortions that could increase risk for disordered eating in some individuals. K E Y W O R D S body mass index, COVID-19, eating concerns, weight concerns, weight gain 1 | INTRODUCTION COVID-19 has severely disrupted daily life around the globe. In the United States, many universities abruptly shifted to on-line instruction during March 2020 and required students to leave campus to reduce the risk of infection. For many students, this meant returning home to live with families and adapting to various stages of community restrictions to "flatten the curve." A return to home, adhering to calls for social distancing, and the closing of bars, restaurants, retail stores, movie theaters, gyms, and more, dramatically altered college students' home, school, work, and social lives. Because grocery shopping was deemed "essential" in almost all communities, food and eating remained one of the few pleasurable activities that most people could pursue along with watching television,

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

“…A summary of the impact of COVID-19 on the overall change in perceived weight status, dietary behaviors, physical activity behaviors, sedentary behaviors and other lifestyle behaviors are shown in Table 2. Eleven out of 19 articles mentioned changes in weight where ten articles mentioned weight gain that ranged from 12.8% to 48.6% and six articles mentioned weight loss that ranged from 13.9-19.4% (Table 3) [2][3][4][5]18,19,21,25,26,28,29]. Two articles reported the combined proportion of participants who lost weight and did not perceive a change in weight [3,25].…”

“…While one study reported that an increased BMI predicted an increase in appetite (OR = 1.07), junk food consumption (OR = 1.03) and lower adherence to a Mediterranean diet [2], another study reported that being overweight (OR = 1.31) or obese (OR: 1.64) were significant predictors of adherence to a healthy diet [22]. Adherence to an unhealthy diet was predicted by a decrease in physical activity (OR = 2.62), living in macroeconomic regions (OR = 1.43-1.47), increased screen time (OR = 1.54) and decreased consumption of homemade food (OR = 3.06) [5,22]. • Age (>50 y OR = 0.9) (21 to 50 years old lower adherence than >50 y)…”

Systematic review of the effects of pandemic confinements on body weight and their determinants

“…We excluded 10 studies based on a quality assessment of the results, and 27 studies were excluded based on reasons presented in the PRISMA flow diagram (Figure 1). The range of observations covered dietary choices (14,(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(33)(34)(35)(36)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47) , lifestyle changes in children (24,36,(48)(49)(50)(51) , physical activity levels (33)(34)(35)37,38,(38)(39)(40)(41)43,46,47,49,52,53,(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60) , psychosocial factors (22,23,<...>…”

“…In contrast, secondary school students felt refreshed on awakening and increased sleeping hours (51) . Weight gain was reported by others to be related to decreased night time sleep and reduced physical activity time (26,41,60) Sedentary lifestyle and screen time increased during the lockdown (24,26,38,47,(55)(56)(57) . Those participants who were not currently working or those who started working from home felt that they gained more weight compared with participants who did not have a change in job routine (21,21,52,58) .…”

Healthy beverage initiatives in higher education: an untapped strategy for health promotion

“…Meta-analyses have confirmed that students experience significant weight gain during this time related to stress, increased alcohol consumption, unhealthy eating patterns and a more sedentary lifestyle (33) . Emerging data, including results from a single study of US college students, demonstrate increases in screen time and energetic intake and decreases in physical activity that could lead to energy imbalance during the pandemic (34) . As Sebastiano et al note, HBI initiatives in post-secondary educational institutions have the ability to alter beverage intake patterns and health during a critical time when young adults have increased autonomy over their dietary choices (6) .…”