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Zhu J, Di Gessa G, Zaninotto P. Changes in health behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic and effect on weight and obesity among older people in England. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14661. [PMID: 37670073 PMCID: PMC10480155 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41391-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
During COVID-19 lockdown, negative changes in health behaviours have been reported in European older adults. However, less is known about the consequences of these changes on weight gain and obesity, especially in older adults living in England. This study explored the association of health behaviour changes with weight and obesity in English older adults aged 50 years and older, during lockdowns in 2020. We included 4182 participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing COVID-19 sub-study in June/July and Nov/Dec 2020 who also had pre-pandemic data. Perceived changes in health behaviours were regressed on weight and obesity, adjusted for pre-pandemic weight or obesity, and several covariates. Results suggested that less exercise, more sedentariness, eating more and alcohol drinking were associated with a significant increase in weight at both timepoints. Meanwhile, less sedentariness and eating less significantly reduced weight in Nov/Dec 2020. A higher risk of obesity at both timepoints was found in adults sitting, eating, or sleeping more than usual. To conclude, during UK lockdown, older people who engaged in risky health behaviours were at higher risks of weight gain and obesity both in the short run and long term. Considering potential health risks associated with obesity and disruptions in routine lifestyle in the older population even after the pandemic, improved weight management interventions are necessary nationwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingmin Zhu
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK
| | - Giorgio Di Gessa
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK
| | - Paola Zaninotto
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
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Anderson LN, Yoshida-Montezuma Y, Dewart N, Jalil E, Khattar J, De Rubeis V, Carsley S, Griffith LE, Mbuagbaw L. Obesity and weight change during the COVID-19 pandemic in children and adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev 2023; 24:e13550. [PMID: 36721999 DOI: 10.1111/obr.13550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Many obesity risk factors have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, including physical inactivity, poor diet, stress, and poverty. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as associated lockdowns or restrictions, on weight change in children and adults. We searched five databases from January 2020 to November 2021. We included only longitudinal studies with measures from before and during the pandemic that evaluated the change in weight, body mass index (BMI) (or BMI z-scores for children), waist circumference, or the prevalence of obesity. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted to obtain pooled estimates of the mean difference in outcomes. Subgroups were evaluated for age groups and diabetes or obesity at baseline. The risk of bias was assessed using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and the certainty of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. A total of 74 studies were included (3,213,776 total participants): 31 studies of children, 41 studies of adults, and 2 studies of children and adults. In children, the pooled mean difference was 1.65 kg (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40, 2.90; 9 studies) for weight and 0.13 (95% CI 0.10, 0.17; 20 studies) for BMI z-scores, and the prevalence of obesity increased by 2% (95% CI 1%, 3%; 12 studies). In adults, the pooled mean difference was 0.93 kg (95% CI 0.54, 1.33; 27 studies) for weight and 0.38 kg/m2 (95% CI 0.21, 0.55; 25 studies) for BMI, and the prevalence of obesity increased by 1% (95% CI 0%, 3%; 11 studies). In children and adults, the pooled mean difference for waist circumference was 1.03 cm (95% CI -0.08, 2.15; 4 studies). There was considerable heterogeneity observed for all outcomes in both children and adults, and the certainty of evidence assessed using GRADE was very low for all outcomes. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, small but potentially clinically significant increases in weight gain, BMI, and increased prevalence of obesity in both children and adults were observed. Increases were greater in children, and targeted prevention interventions may be warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura N Anderson
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yulika Yoshida-Montezuma
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nora Dewart
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ezza Jalil
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jayati Khattar
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vanessa De Rubeis
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sarah Carsley
- Department of Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lauren E Griffith
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,McMaster Institute for Research on Aging, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lawrence Mbuagbaw
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Biostatistics Unit, Father Sean O'Sullivan Research Centre, St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Centre for Development of Best Practices in Health (CDBPH), Yaoundé Central Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon.,Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
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Muacevic A, Adler JR, Alsusa H, Shaikh A, Howard M, Narayanamoorthi S, Khan T. Has Lockdown and COVID-19 Led to a Change in the Characteristics of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Patients Who Are Afflicted With It? Cureus 2022; 14:e32424. [PMID: 36644054 PMCID: PMC9832395 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.32424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is growing evidence identifying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a significant risk factor for thrombosis in inpatients. However, it remains uncertain if patients in the community have been influenced during the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown. This study, across four centres in the United Kingdom (UK), reviewed outpatients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT). AIM This study aims to find out whether lockdown and COVID-19 led to a change in the characteristics of DVT and patients who are afflicted with it, alongside a review of DVT service. METHODS Data was collected retrospectively from electronic patient records system for the following periods: April 1 to June 30, 2019, and April 1 to June 30, 2020. These were the key months during the first national lockdown in UK. Data were analysed for patient demographics, risk factors, characteristics of DVT, management, and DVT reoccurrence. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism 8 (Dotmatics, Boston, Massachusetts, United States). RESULTS During the study periods, 227 outpatients from the community sustained DVT in 2019 and 211 in 2020. Of these patients, 13 in 2020 were COVID-19 positive. There was a difference in gender distribution with 128 males and 99 females in 2019, and 93 males and 118 females in 2020 (p= 0.0128). No significant difference was noted in the incidence of thrombophilia with nine in 2019 and three in 2020 (p=0.1437). Fewer long-haul journeys were made in 2020 (only two), compared to 16 in 2019 (p=0.012). Fewer patients had immobility as a risk factor in 2020 (n=55) compared to 2019 (n=79) (p=0.0494). However, there were more patients using oral contraceptive pills, with one in 2019 and nine in 2020 (p=0.0086) . CONCLUSION There is no significant difference in the characteristics, extent, and management of DVT prior to and during the COVID-19 lockdown. National lockdowns do not affect DVT in the community; however, it is important to highlight the surrounding inpatient numbers.
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Titis E, Procter R, Walasek L. Assessing physical access to healthy food across United Kingdom: A systematic review of measures and findings. Obes Sci Pract 2022; 8:233-246. [PMID: 35388348 PMCID: PMC8976549 DOI: 10.1002/osp4.563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Existing research suggests that physical access to food can affect diet quality and thus obesity rates. When defining retail food environment (RFE) quantitatively, there is a little agreement on how to measure "lack of healthy food" and what parameters to use, resulting in a heterogeneity of study designs and outcome measures. In turn, this leads to a conflicting evidence base being one of the many barriers to using evidence in policy-making. Aims This systematic review aimed to identify and describe methods used to assess food accessibility in the United Kingdom (UK) to overcome heterogeneity by providing a classification of measures. Materials & Methods The literature search included electronic and manual searches of peer-reviewed literature and was restricted to studies published in English between January 2010 and March 2021. A total of 9365 articles were assessed for eligibility, of which 44 articles were included in the review. All included studies were analysed with regards to their main characteristics (e.g., associations between variables of interest, setting, sample, design, etc.) and definition of RFE and its metrics. When defining these metrics, the present review distinguishes between a point of origin (centroid, address) from which distance was calculated, summary statistic of accessibility (proximity, buffer, Kernel), and definition of distance (Euclidean, network distance). Trends, gaps and limitations are identified and recommendations made for food accessibility research in UK. Results Multiple theoretical and methodological constructs are currently used, mostly quantifying distance by means of Euclidean and ring-buffer distance, using both proximity- and density-based approaches, and ranging from absolute to relative measures. The association between RFE and diet and health in rural areas, as well as a spatiotemporal domain of food access, remains largely unaccounted. Discussion Evidence suggests that the duration of exposure may bear a greater importance than the level of exposure and that density-based measures may better capture RFE when compared with proximity-based measures, however, using more complex measures not necessarily produce better results. To move the field forward, studies have called for a greater focus on causality, individual access and the use of various measures, neighbourhood definitions and potential confounders to capture different aspects and dimensions of the RFE, which requires using univariate measures of accessibility and considering the overall context in terms of varying types of neighbourhoods. Conclusion In order to render ongoing heterogeneity in measuring RFE, researchers should prioritise measures that may provide a more accurate and realistic account of people's lives and follow an intuitive approach based on convergence of results until consensus could be reached on using some useful standards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elzbieta Titis
- Department of Computer ScienceWarwick Institute for the Science of CitiesUniversity of WarwickCoventryUK
| | - Rob Procter
- Department of Computer ScienceUniversity of WarwickCoventryUK
- Alan Turing InstituteLondonUK
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Dicken SJ, Mitchell JJ, Newberry Le Vay J, Beard E, Kale D, Herbec A, Shahab L. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Diet Behaviour Among UK Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis of the HEBECO Study. Front Nutr 2022; 8:788043. [PMID: 35096934 PMCID: PMC8793888 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2021.788043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 pandemic restrictions impacted dietary habits during the initial months of the pandemic, but long-term effects are unclear. In this longitudinal study, self-selected UK adults (n = 1,733, 71.1% female, 95.7% white ethnicity) completed three online surveys (May-June, August-September, and November-December 2020, with a retrospective pre-pandemic component in the baseline survey), self-reporting sociodemographics, lifestyle, and behaviours, including high fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) snacks, HFSS meals, and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. Data were analysed using generalised estimating equations. Monthly HFSS snacks portion intake increased from pre-pandemic levels (48.3) in May-June (57.6, p < 0.001), decreased in August-September (43.7, p < 0.001), before increasing back to pre-pandemic levels in November-December (49.2, p < 0.001). A total of 48.5% self-reported increased [25.9 (95% confidence interval: 24.1, 27.8)] and 47.7% self-reported decreased [24.1 (22.4, 26.0)] monthly HFSS snacks portion intakes in November-December compared with pre-pandemic levels. Monthly HFSS meals portion intake decreased from pre-pandemic levels (7.1) in May-June (5.9, p < 0.001), was maintained in August-September (5.9, p = 0.897), and then increased again in November-December (6.6, p < 0.001) to intakes that remained lower than pre-pandemic levels (p = 0.007). A total of 35.2% self-reported increased [4.8 (4.3, 5.3)] and 44.5% self-reported decreased [5.1 (4.6, 5.6)] monthly HFSS meals portion intakes in November-December compared with pre-pandemic levels. The proportion meeting FV intake recommendations was stable from pre-pandemic through to August-September (70%), but decreased in November-December 2020 (67%, p = 0.034). Increased monthly HFSS snacks intake was associated with female gender, lower quality of life, and - in a time - varying manner - older age and higher HFSS meals intake. Increased monthly HFSS meals intake was associated with female gender, living with adults only, and higher HFSS snacks intake. Reduced FV intake was associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and lower physical activity. These results suggest large interindividual variability in dietary change during the first year of the pandemic, with important public health implications in individuals experiencing persistent increases in unhealthy diet choices, associated with BMI, gender, quality of life, living conditions, physical activity, and other dietary behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. Dicken
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - John Joseph Mitchell
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Emma Beard
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dimitra Kale
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Aleksandra Herbec
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lion Shahab
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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