COVID‐19–Related Home Confinement in Adults: Weight Gain Risks and Opportunities

Abstract

As the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic unfolds, more than 90% of U.S. adult residents are confined to their homes, with restaurants, shops, schools, and workplaces shut down to prevent disease spread.Although it is a priority to mitigate the immediate impact, one area of great concern is the long-term effects of this pandemic on weight management in adults.As evident from previous research, small changes in body weight in relatively short periods can become permanent and lead to substantial weight gain over time (1).Considering that the current situation could last a total of several months, this extended home confinement could exacerbate the problem of obesity in adults by substantially contributing to or exceeding annual weight gain.Though not identical conditions or contexts, we can cautiously draw parallels between the extended home confinement and the literature on holiday (2-4) and vacation (5) weight gain.One thing they all have in common is a deviation from usual routines.Through research on how holidays or vacations impact weight management, we know several things that may be relevant to the current shelter-in-place situations occurring as a result of COVID-19.First, significant weight and fat mass accumulation can occur during a relatively short period (3-6); second, individuals with overweight and obesity are at greater risk for this weight gain (3); third, regular exercisers or those with a previous high energy expenditure are not necessarily protected from weight gain (3,4,7); fourth, weight that is gained during a very short period is likely to remain in some populations, with women being at the greatest risk (5,6); and fifth, changes in eating behavior are likely the main driver toward energy surplus (4).If we apply this knowledge to extended home confinement because of COVID-19, it is quite possible that significant body weight or fat mass gain is going to occur in adults, with women and adults with overweight or obesity being at the greatest risk for permanent change.