To no one’s surprise, a study has found that obesity increased during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Compared with a pre-pandemic baseline period (Jan. 1, 2019, to March 12, 2020), adult obesity prevalence was 3% higher over the period from March 13, 2020, to March 18, 2021, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study from the USDA Economic Research Service.
“The analysis reveals that, relative to the 2019 to March 12, 2020, period, average [body mass index] was higher by 0.6% and obesity prevalence rates were higher by 1.1% points or 3% relative to the sample mean,” the study said.
Even before the pandemic, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicated 42.4% of U.S. adults experienced obesity. In fact, the USDA report said adult obesity prevalence in the U.S. was trending upward in the years before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings showed statistically significant changes in each of the four obesity-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a summary of the study:
- Participation in exercise rose 4.4%;
- People slept 1.5% longer;
- The number of days in the period of a month in which alcohol was consumed was 2.7% higher; and
- Cigarette smoking dropped by 4%.
Given the observed higher obesity prevalence rates, higher exercise participation rates and slightly increased average hours of sleep were not enough to offset behavior changes that increased obesity risk, the study said.
“Research shows that increased use of alcohol and reduced cigarette smoking can lead to obesity and therefore may have contributed to the higher rates of obesity among U.S. adults during the pandemic,” the report said.
As the pandemic conditions improve in the U.S., the USDA said the study results can inform U.S. policymakers about the state of the obesity epidemic among U.S. adults, as well as the contributing obesity-related behaviors.
“Given that more than 40% of adults currently have obesity, which raises annual medical costs by approximately $3,632, continued surveillance of obesity prevalence rates and obesity-related risk factors can help to inform policy that is designed to mitigate the health and economic burdens of obesity,” the study said.
