Research
Energy balance
Overfeeding combined with physical inactivity exacerbates metabolic deterioration, increasing body mass, fat mass, and worsening lipid profiles more than inactivity alone.
During confinement, if you cannot exercise, you must restrict your calorie intake to match your reduced energy expenditure. Overeating during this time will lead to rapid fat gain and worsened metabolic health.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
This means that just as calorie intake restriction could help mitigate the deleterious impacts of a bout of physical inactivity, overeating under conditions of home confinement is very likely to exacerbate these consequences.
Why this rating
Supported by specific studies cited (e.g., Knudsen et al., Winn et al.) showing worsened outcomes with overfeeding.
Source
Metabolic Impacts of Confinement during the COVID-19 Pandemic Due to Modified Diet and Physical Activity Habits
María Martínez‐Ferrán et al. · Nutrients · 2020
DOI 10.3390/nu12061549
narrative_reviewCited 378×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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