Brown, A., Flint, S.W. orcid.org/0000-0003-4878-3019, Dicken, S.J. et al. (5 more authors) (2023) The impact of living through COVID‐19 pandemic on mental health, food insecurity, loneliness and health behaviours in people with obesity. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 36 (3). pp. 1011-1018. ISSN 0952-3871
Abstract
Background The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted people living with obesity. The aim was to examine the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of people living with obesity and associations with food insecurity, loneliness and health-related behaviours.
Methods The study recruited 1187 UK adults living with obesity who completed an online survey, which examined mental health and associations with food insecurity, loneliness and health-related behaviours from July 2020 (end of the first lockdown in the United Kingdom) to the point they completed the survey in 2021. Regression analyses were used to examine relationships between outcome variables and demographic factors, and hierarchical linear regression models were used to assess levels of loneliness, depression and well-being.
Results Participants reported worse loneliness, depression, well-being and food insecurity compared to pre-COVID. However, participants reported attempting to lose weight, healthier food shopping, diet and increased physical activity. Quality and quantity of sleep deteriorated compared to prior to COVID-19.
Conclusions Adults living with obesity in the United Kingdom report a continued negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon their mental health together with increased loneliness and food insecurity. However, our findings suggest that UK adults living with obesity have increased their engagement in positive health behaviours and were attempting to lose weight.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Dietetic Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. |
Keywords: | COVID-19; food insecurity; loneliness; mental health; obesity |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 01 Aug 2023 13:45 |
Last Modified: | 01 Aug 2023 13:45 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/jhn.13120 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:202014 |