Survey respondents report difficulty in achieving weight loss goals, along with deteriorating mental health.
Stay-at-Home Orders Challenging Obese Patients
FRIDAY, June 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Obese patients are reporting physical and mental health challenges during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, according to a study published online June 9 in Clinical Obesity.
Jaime P. Almandoz, M.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues surveyed patients with obesity seen previously at an obesity medicine clinic and a bariatric surgery practice. The survey, conducted between April 15, 2020, and May 31, 2020, assessed COVID-19 status and health behaviors during stay-at-home orders among 123 patients.
The researchers report that two patients tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and 14.6 percent reported symptoms. Just under three-quarters of respondents (72.8 percent) reported increased anxiety, and 83.6 percent reported increased depression since stay-at-home orders were initiated. More than two-thirds (69.6 percent) reported more difficultly in achieving weight loss goals, less exercise time (47.9 percent), lower exercise intensity (55.8 percent), increased stockpiling of food (49.6 percent), and more stress eating (61.2 percent).