Cureus · 9 authors, 3 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This observational study of 63 patients with obesity in Portugal found that the majority (61.7%) lost weight during the COVID-19 lockdown, which was associated with self-reported changes in dietary habits like reduced carbohydrate and snack consumption.
The central result was that 61.7% of patients reported weight loss during the pandemic, which participants associated with a change in dietary habits (reported by 68%). Physical activity decreased in 34.9% of participants. Mental health was negatively affected, with 52.4% feeling more anxious and 44.4% sadder. Limitations include the self-reported, subjective nature of the questionnaire data. The study concludes that while the lockdown had a harmful impact on mental health and exercise, weight loss was an unexpected common outcome, suggesting a need for continuous monitoring.
