TY - JOUR
T1 - Factors associated with weight gain during COVID-19 pandemic
T2 - A global study
AU - On behalf of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Global Health Program¶
AU - Huang, Junjie
AU - Chan, Sze Chai
AU - Ko, Samantha
AU - Wang, Harry H.X.
AU - Yuan, Jacky
AU - Xu, Wanghong
AU - Zheng, Zhi Jie
AU - Xue, Hao
AU - Zhang, Lin
AU - Jiang, Johnny Y.
AU - Huang, Jason L.W.
AU - Chen, Ping
AU - Palaganas, Erlinda
AU - Viwattanakulvanid, Pramon
AU - Somrongthong, Ratana
AU - Caicedo, Andrés
AU - de Jesús Medina-Arellano, María
AU - Murphy, Jill
AU - Paredes, Maria B.A.
AU - Withers, Mellissa
AU - Wong, Martin C.S.
AU - Withers, Mellissa
AU - Wong, Martin C.S.
AU - Huang, Junjie
AU - Chan, Sze Chai
AU - Ko, Samantha
AU - Wang, Harry H.X.
AU - Yuan, Jacky
AU - Xu, Wanghong
AU - Zheng, Zhi Jie
AU - Xue, Hao
AU - Zhang, Lin
AU - Jiang, Johnny Y.
AU - Huang, Jason L.W.
AU - Chen, Ping
AU - Palaganas, Erlinda
AU - Viwattanakulvanid, Pramon
AU - Somrongthong, Ratana
AU - Caicedo, Andrés
AU - de Jesús Medina-Arellano, María
AU - Murphy, Jill
AU - Paredes, Maria B.A.
AU - Gruskin, Sofia
AU - Schönleber, Christina
AU - Chow, King L.
AU - Haryanto, Budi
AU - Jimba, Masamine
AU - Sahakitrungruang, Taninee
AU - Li, Mu
AU - McCool, Judith
N1 - Funding Information:
MCW and JH received the funding and this study was supported by the Lee Hysan Foundation Research Grant (CA11296) of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Huang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in changes in lifestyle habits and experiences of mental health outcomes, some of which were possibly related to weight gain, leading to an increase in the prevalence of obesity, which is associated with the development of several severe diseases. Concerns regarding weight gain and its impact on health outcomes are prevalent worldwide, with obesity being one of the highest causes of mortality in current society. Methods A self-reported questionnaire collected data from participants aged 18 years of age and above from 26 countries and regions worldwide. Post-hoc multiple logistic regression analyses have been done to evaluate the association between demographic and socioeconomic factors, and the perspectives that were identified to be associated with weight gain. Results Participants belonging to a younger age group; with a higher level of education; living in an urban area; living with family members; employed full-time; and had obesity were found to be more vulnerable to weight gain. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, participants who were quarantined; exercised less prior to the pandemic; consumed unhealthy foods; and reported negative thoughts such as helplessness and the perceived risk of COVID-19, were more likely to experience weight gain; while negative thoughts such as having no means of control over the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic will have great personal effect were associated with females, students, and people living in the rural area. Conclusions Weight gain risk during the pandemic was significantly associated with certain socio-demographic and COVID-19 related factors. To improve public health outcomes, future research should conduct a longitudinal evaluation on the effects of COVID-19 experiences upon health choices. Streamlined mental support should also be provided to the vulnerable groups which were prone to negative thoughts that were associated with weight gain.
AB - Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in changes in lifestyle habits and experiences of mental health outcomes, some of which were possibly related to weight gain, leading to an increase in the prevalence of obesity, which is associated with the development of several severe diseases. Concerns regarding weight gain and its impact on health outcomes are prevalent worldwide, with obesity being one of the highest causes of mortality in current society. Methods A self-reported questionnaire collected data from participants aged 18 years of age and above from 26 countries and regions worldwide. Post-hoc multiple logistic regression analyses have been done to evaluate the association between demographic and socioeconomic factors, and the perspectives that were identified to be associated with weight gain. Results Participants belonging to a younger age group; with a higher level of education; living in an urban area; living with family members; employed full-time; and had obesity were found to be more vulnerable to weight gain. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, participants who were quarantined; exercised less prior to the pandemic; consumed unhealthy foods; and reported negative thoughts such as helplessness and the perceived risk of COVID-19, were more likely to experience weight gain; while negative thoughts such as having no means of control over the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic will have great personal effect were associated with females, students, and people living in the rural area. Conclusions Weight gain risk during the pandemic was significantly associated with certain socio-demographic and COVID-19 related factors. To improve public health outcomes, future research should conduct a longitudinal evaluation on the effects of COVID-19 experiences upon health choices. Streamlined mental support should also be provided to the vulnerable groups which were prone to negative thoughts that were associated with weight gain.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85153411747&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0284283
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0284283
M3 - Article
C2 - 37079519
AN - SCOPUS:85153411747
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 18
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 4 April
M1 - e0284283
ER -
