The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many of our activities of daily living. Teleworking, the reduction in social interactions, the limitation of mobility in the different countries, the restrictions in leisure activities are habits that have gradually been established in a progressive way, and have been chronicling since the presence of COVID-19 in our life. For many people these changes have not been welcomed mainly because of the consequences on their physical and psychological health.
In the early stages of the pandemic crisis, the first lockdown situation caused people to radically change usual routines. This situation of tremendous exceptionality for all of us, caught us off guard. Some people overcame the situation and adapted by inventing all kinds of activities that they did at home. However, even the most creative and active individuals experienced an increase in weight. A systematic review and meta-analysis about the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on body weight in all ages conclude that increments in Body Weight (a weighted mean of 1.57 kg) in a significant part of the individuals were an alarming effect of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to potential higher incidence of overweight, obesity and related health-risks as well as other non-communicable diseases. But not only affects in terms of gain but also in terms of weight loss, especially in adults older than 60 suggesting a higher risk of malnutrition in the elderly population.
Factors, as the rise in unstructured time, less sleep, less physical exercise, combined with the enormous stress of the pandemic and its far-reaching consequences has led to widespread concerns among all people worldwide about vulnerability to overeating, sedentary behavior, and weight gain. The lockdown situation may contribute to what many posts of social media refers as the “quarantine-15,” referencing the weight gain that many people experience during the pandemic. Surely all these factors exert a multiplicative effect as causes of weight gain. Despite the above, one of the factors that may have most influenced weight gain is sedentary lifestyle.
Physical activity is one of the behaviors that more benefits can bring to a human being. Physical exercise is known for all the benefits it produces in the body if practiced regularly and correctly, but it is important to remember that the benefits it offers are not only at the level of cardiovascular health, but can also offer enormous psychological benefits, improving our cognitive functions and mental well-being. Seemingly simple things like physical activity would be very important in the treatment and prevention of diseases like depression. Some recent studies have evidenced that physical activity causes the brain to take action in case of depression. Researchers of the University Psychiatric and Psychotherapy Clinic of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Germany) have shown the double beneficial effect of physical activity on depression: it not only reduces depressive symptoms, but also increases the ability of the brain to change, necessary to the adaptation to the environment and to an efficient performance of learning processes.
Now that we know the importance of physical activity, there are some strategies that people can adopt to maintain weight and to go away the sedentarism in case there is a new lockdown. People can perform a variety of exercises in the safety of their own homes. These can include yoga, body weight exercises, or simply walking around the house. Trying an online workout program would be a good option, there is a large variety and people can choose an activity and/or change to a different program depending on their health goals. Some people may also consider trying an online personal trainer that can provide an individual exercise and nutrition plan.
In conclusion, even in difficult times, human beings are able to adapt: social networks, virtual encounters, directed trainings, online classes and virtual reality are resources of our times that, even in isolation, they can allow us to maintain, in one way or another, the contact with other people and the interest to take care of our health. The importance of physical exercise and a balanced diet has been a lesson that many people have learned precisely during the covid-19 pandemic and that must not be forgotten.
About the author
Julia Vázquez is a clinical and research neuropsychologist working as pre-doc at Vall d’Hebrón Research Institute (VHIR) in different research projects focused on psychological factors and cognition in metabolic disorders. She has expertise in the neuropsychological assessment and treatment of neurodegenerative disease, brain injury and epilepsy patients at Neurology Services at different Hospitals in the city of Barcelona. She had dedicated part of her clinical and research practice to the diagnosis and treatment of learning and language disorders in childhood neurorehabilitation centres. Also, she had collaborated as a teacher of the Neuropsychology master’s degree of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and she is author of contents about Language pathology of the Master of Neuropsychology of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.
References:
Bakaloudi, D. R., Barazzoni, R., Bischoff, S. C., Breda, J., Wickramasinghe, K., & Chourdakis, M. (2021). Impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on body weight: A combined systematic review and a meta-analysis. Clinical Nutrition.
Pearl, R. L. (2020). Weight stigma and the “Quarantine-15”. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 28(7), 1180.
Brüchle, W., Schwarzer, C., Berns, C., Scho, S., Schneefeld, J., Koester, D., & Rosenkranz, K. (2021). Physical activity reduces clinical symptoms and restores neuroplasticity in major depression. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12.
Kandola, A., Ashdown-Franks, G., Hendrikse, J., Sabiston, C. M., & Stubbs, B. (2019). Physical activity and depression: Towards understanding the antidepressant mechanisms of physical activity. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 107, 525-539.
Web: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/quarantine-weight-gain