Research
Energy balance
COVID-19 home confinement led to significant weight gain in 38.8% of the Spanish population, with higher BMI and older age being positive predictors of this weight increase.
If you are older or overweight, be aware that lockdown makes weight gain more likely. Focus on maintaining your current activity level and monitoring portions, as these are the strongest predictors of staying stable.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
38.8% of the respondents experienced weight gain while 31.1% lost weight during confinement. The increase in body weight was positively correlated with age (Rs = 0.14, p < 0.05) and BMI (Rs = 0.20, p < 0.05).
Why this rating
Cross-sectional survey design with self-reported data limits causal inference and precision compared to RCTs.
Source
Physical and Psychological Effects Related to Food Habits and Lifestyle Changes Derived from COVID-19 Home Confinement in the Spanish Population
Miguel López‐Moreno et al. · Nutrients · 2020
DOI 10.3390/nu12113445
cross_sectional · n=675Cited 215×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Emotional eating, particularly the inability to stop eating sweets or eating when stressed, is strongly associated with greater weight gain during confinement.Moderate
- Discontinuation of physical exercise during confinement is associated with weight gain, whereas maintaining or starting exercise is associated with weight loss.Moderate
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