PLOS ONE · 2 authors, 3 centres
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A cross-sectional online survey of 179 UK adults during COVID-19 restrictions found that higher perceived stress was associated with greater reported weight gain, with prior poor mental health and female sex predicting both higher stress and weight gain.
This cross-sectional study surveyed 179 UK adults via an online self-report questionnaire during January–February 2021 to investigate associations between perceived stress, prior mental health, and changes in weight, eating behaviours, dietary consumption, and physical activity during COVID-19 restrictions. Participants with higher stress were significantly more likely to report weight gain and approximately twice as likely to report increased food cravings and comfort food consumption. Food cravings were linked to a six- to elevenfold increased likelihood of snacking and consumption of high sugar or processed foods. Having a prior psychiatric diagnosis was nearly six times more likely to predict being in the higher stress category, and females were over three times more likely to be in the higher stress category than males.
