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How does Covid-19 affect Obesity epidemic?
Replies
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I think this situation is a perfect way to learn two of the best skills we need when trying to lose or maintain weight - resiliency and creativity. For those of us who’ve been on this journey for awhile (I’ve lost 122 lbs in the last 2 years and conquered the autoimmune disease that had me bedridden for 13 years) we can adapt and know how to search out the tools and information to keep going.
I’m hoping that people can see the opportunities in this pandemic not only to work on themselves - as I believe many will - but to reach out to their communities and build closer more resilient and creative connections. Will some people gain weight? Probably. Will it statistically increase the obesity epidemic? Who knows. My feeling is that it will be a blip at best. Taking the long view - the pandemic may make people realize how vulnerable their weight/health/smoking/etc is and take action to make improvements.11 -
One_Eye_Blind wrote: »I think this situation is a perfect way to learn two of the best skills we need when trying to lose or maintain weight - resiliency and creativity. For those of us who’ve been on this journey for awhile (I’ve lost 122 lbs in the last 2 years and conquered the autoimmune disease that had me bedridden for 13 years) we can adapt and know how to search out the tools and information to keep going.
I’m hoping that people can see the opportunities in this pandemic not only to work on themselves - as I believe many will - but to reach out to their communities and build closer more resilient and creative connections. Will some people gain weight? Probably. Will it statistically increase the obesity epidemic? Who knows. My feeling is that it will be a blip at best. Taking the long view - the pandemic may make people realize how vulnerable their weight/health/smoking/etc is and take action to make improvements.
Unfortunately our culture is always taking the short view. I wish that vulnerability would kick in but the main person in my life that needs to learn how to moderate/quit drinking and smoking is out there still doing it in public enjoying the lack of crowds. Considering how bad a shape his lungs are already in if he gets corona it will almost certainly kill him. I am not trying to be dramatic either. He is a regular hospital patient with lung issues and you can count on the fact he will be back every 8 months or less.
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For a number of reasons, I haven't belonged to a gym in years. (I'm currently sporadically employed and don't want a regular monthly debit; for religious reasons, I need a women's-only gym and the closest one is far enough away that I know I wouldn't go much in cold weather; I'm uncoordinated and as much as I try not to compare myself to everyone else in a class, I can't always help it...)
Anyway, I've got a glider, a treadmill, and dumbbells ranging from 3 to 35lbs in the basement. I've got music and a good pair of running shoes. (Seriously; just spent more than I've ever spent on running shoes last week for some Brooks Arial 20s.)
This is pretty much business as usual.3 -
Unless in very specific communities, they aren't expecting you to quarantine yourself in your house and sit on your butt. Most are encouraging people to still get outdoors and do stuff (just not in groups or only in small groups with distance between them). At least around here, it seems most people normally entertain themselves by sitting (watching/listening to something/someone) while eating/drinking. With live music/bars/restaurants shut down, we might actually come out ahead healthier in terms of obesity. No gym, but I can still ride/run/hike (with no post-activity group pub stop afterward). Lazy people will still be lazy (but without the crazy-high-calorie restaurant/bar food) and active people (barring an actual quarantine) will still be active (minus the beer and pub snacks afterward). Depression-activated snacking might be the big hurdle, if anything.4 -
Worth noting I'm cycling even more now in order to keep my sanity, now that dancing is gone. .. so significantly more calories burned and less consumed (usually some drinking and snacking when out dancing)(ETA: and group rides often end with beer).1
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I have had a desire to stress eat, which so far I've been channeling into stress cooking rather than eating. My gym is closed so strength training is now just floor exercises. I never did cardio in the gym - I prefer to run outdoors, no matter the weather, so its just the free weights I miss.
But as far as what the population as a whole will do, I don't have insight into that. But, I see lots more people talking walks around my neighborhood lately, even though it's still quite chilly. So, I'm hopeful that this forced pause in our lives encourages more people to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. But I also want my gym to reopen.
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I think it's easy to lose motivation but in my case one thing I can control is how much I eat as long as I'm able to get to the store soon (one neighbor is hosting a farm this weekend so if I do bad tomorrow at the store I'll get produce there. I've been finding recipes to use all the dry beans/legumes I have though I have to modify a bit. Getting started working out is challenging but between my Fitbit and wanting to hit a certain amount of steps and online videos I've kept pretty active. Once I get started I start having fun and am probably overdoing it but am trying to have fun with it. I racked up so many steps yesterday I went for breaking my record for the next "badge", unless I go hiking from dusk to dawn I don't think I'll ever get the next one. I know a lot of people are binge watching Netflix and not finding healthy food at the stores so it'll be a challenge for many.1
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I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Leslie Sansome doesn’t take up much room.1 -
My nervous overeating has been balanced by my nervous activity so far. For me, careful monitoring and logging remain the key to my maintenance. As others have said much more eloquently, I'm controlling what I can control.1
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corinasue1143 wrote: »I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Leslie Sansome doesn’t take up much room.
That is a good suggestion, thank you! Looks like it would be doable. Especially since I'm now getting weather warnings for blizzard conditions tomorrow. I guess missing out on a snowy slick commute is one thing to be grateful for in this situation!2 -
I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Don't know where you are but in most of the US 4-6 inches of snow this time of year will be gone fast. Do you have anything preventing you from walking if there is a bit of snow on the ground?
Good luck.2 -
corinasue1143 wrote: »I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Leslie Sansome doesn’t take up much room.
Yep, I used to live in a 500 square foot studio apartment and still had room to use Leslie Sansone videos!1 -
Leslie Sansone gets my vote too. I live in a 700 sq ft guest house.2
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For those who miss dancing, there’s tons of dance exercise on YouTube. I’m addicted to Zumba and The Fitness Marshall (although I have to admit some stuff I have to modify quite a bit.). The Balanced Life with Robin Long is great for those who like Pilates - and Pilates does not take up much room.2
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Don't know where you are but in most of the US 4-6 inches of snow this time of year will be gone fast. Do you have anything preventing you from walking if there is a bit of snow on the ground?
Good luck.
It mostly depends on whether people get their walks shoveled in a timely fashion. I live in an old neighborhood where most of the sidewalks are broken up and uneven from tree roots and stuff. If it’s snow covered and icy, it’s more treacherous than productive. It’s supposed to snow through Friday, so hopefully it will melt off quickly. I still hate doing it alone. It honestly doesn’t matter if I’m inside or out, it’s the deafening isolation that’s already getting to me.10 -
psychod787 wrote: »I think active, diet conscious folks will find ways to eat decent and move. People who don't care, won't. That's just the way it is. Where there is a will, there is a way.
100% agree.6 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Don't know where you are but in most of the US 4-6 inches of snow this time of year will be gone fast. Do you have anything preventing you from walking if there is a bit of snow on the ground?
Good luck.
It mostly depends on whether people get their walks shoveled in a timely fashion. I live in an old neighborhood where most of the sidewalks are broken up and uneven from tree roots and stuff. If it’s snow covered and icy, it’s more treacherous than productive. It’s supposed to snow through Friday, so hopefully it will melt off quickly. I still hate doing it alone. It honestly doesn’t matter if I’m inside or out, it’s the deafening isolation that’s already getting to me.
That sucks. Hang in the and get out there when the snow melts.
Best of luck1 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Don't know where you are but in most of the US 4-6 inches of snow this time of year will be gone fast. Do you have anything preventing you from walking if there is a bit of snow on the ground?
Good luck.
It mostly depends on whether people get their walks shoveled in a timely fashion. I live in an old neighborhood where most of the sidewalks are broken up and uneven from tree roots and stuff. If it’s snow covered and icy, it’s more treacherous than productive. It’s supposed to snow through Friday, so hopefully it will melt off quickly. I still hate doing it alone. It honestly doesn’t matter if I’m inside or out, it’s the deafening isolation that’s already getting to me.
Microspikes and Yaktrax are great in snow and ice.3 -
I'll give an answer so optimistic you'll think I'm Pollyanna.
People will realize that those with T2D and CVD fare much worse when infected by the new coronavirus. They'll come to feel that their exceeded weight is dangerous for them and for society (given what Italy went through), and decide to make managing their weight a priority.9 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Don't know where you are but in most of the US 4-6 inches of snow this time of year will be gone fast. Do you have anything preventing you from walking if there is a bit of snow on the ground?
Good luck.
It mostly depends on whether people get their walks shoveled in a timely fashion. I live in an old neighborhood where most of the sidewalks are broken up and uneven from tree roots and stuff. If it’s snow covered and icy, it’s more treacherous than productive. It’s supposed to snow through Friday, so hopefully it will melt off quickly. I still hate doing it alone. It honestly doesn’t matter if I’m inside or out, it’s the deafening isolation that’s already getting to me.
Microspikes and Yaktrax are great in snow and ice.
The usual problem where I live with running on the sidewalks much of the winter is that you get a stretch of pavement followed by a stretch (or even just various patches) of ice followed by perhaps some snow (since people did a bad job shoveling) and so on. I have Yaktrax but haven't really used them since my understanding has been that they wouldn't be good on the pavement parts. Am I wrong? It's late enough in the year that I'm not worried about it (knock on wood), but that ice/pavement/ice/pavement type of condition is the main thing that keeps me from running outside more consistently in the winter.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Don't know where you are but in most of the US 4-6 inches of snow this time of year will be gone fast. Do you have anything preventing you from walking if there is a bit of snow on the ground?
Good luck.
It mostly depends on whether people get their walks shoveled in a timely fashion. I live in an old neighborhood where most of the sidewalks are broken up and uneven from tree roots and stuff. If it’s snow covered and icy, it’s more treacherous than productive. It’s supposed to snow through Friday, so hopefully it will melt off quickly. I still hate doing it alone. It honestly doesn’t matter if I’m inside or out, it’s the deafening isolation that’s already getting to me.
Microspikes and Yaktrax are great in snow and ice.
.... so are moving vans.5 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I'll give an answer so optimistic you'll think I'm Pollyanna.
People will realize that those with T2D and CVD fare much worse when infected by the new coronavirus. They'll come to feel that their exceeded weight is dangerous for them and for society (given what Italy went through), and decide to make managing their weight a priority.
Unfortunately, they have been told that excess weight increases the chances of poor health outcomes for years. Not sure if some virus will change a bunch of minds.
Hoping I'm wrong.4 -
I really think it will affect different people differently. I know several parents who are home with the kids and exhausted from running around keeping them occupied. People getting stir crazy and taking lots of walks. Some people do actually lose their appetite when they are scared or anxious. So I don't think everyone who isn't calorie conscious will necessarily gain weight.
It also depends how long it goes on. 3 or 4 weeks sitting around I don't think will supercharge the obesity numbers, especially since most people sit around too much anyway. A couple of months might be long enough to let some bad habits set in, but I'm not sure enough people that aren't already obese will go in that direction to move the needle.6 -
I'm with the optimists--I think COV19 will change lives. People will have time to think. Maybe self evaluation will set in. Sometimes a scare is what people need to get started. I'm someone living in an apartment. We're 4 here, but across the landing is my son, wife, and 2 little kids (1 and 2). We're lucky that we have a terrace up on our building and we are starting to take the kids up there and use it. I and my husband get up before 6 and go for a 45 minute walk-run around a park a block away. The park is closed, but the sidewalk around it is wide and we can avoid close contact. Only a handful of people are out there at that hour. Italy is talking about closing the option for outside walks and jogging. When that happens, I will re-evaluate the situation. My youngest son--27 is doing improvised weights and elastic bands in his room. He seems satisfied with that.6
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To summarize, I know this pandemic is affecting us all in ways that we may not even realize right now. Do you think that it will also negatively affect the obesity epidemic(as I feel it will), or am I not having enough faith in humanity?
I think there's a lot of variables that are going to impact how this goes, weight-wise. But I guess I'm looking at this only slightly from a 'people are forced to stay inside' perspective and more from a 'this is a pandemic' perspective.
1. Depression is going to go up, because people are going to be trapped in small spaces. People are going to lose loved ones. People are going to lose jobs. Depression tends to add to weight gain, so that could negatively affect folks that way.
2. But, as I just said: people are going to lose jobs. A LOT of people, in all likelihood. And they can't go out to panhandle. Food banks are going to be struggling to keep up with demand. So we are going to have more people than ever before who may be going hungry because they can't afford to buy food. That's likely to positively impact the obesity epidemic, for the worst sort of reasons.
3. We may also be looking at food shortages in general, country-wide. Not necessarily food overall, but pre-processed food may be harder to come by, depending on factory production ability based on the health of their workers. Eating out may be completely gone shortly, for some period of time.
As someone who ended up with a lot of allergies, I can tell you right now: unless you love cooking, you are less likely to overeat when you can't get as many pre-processed foods and have to make most of the food you eat. It's a lot of work, and it's not fun unless you LIKE to do it. When you hit that point where you are going to get seconds, or NOT have to cook your next meal because you saved leftovers? Leftovers often win.
This I think might have a positive impact on obesity. Not because people are exercising more self-control for dieting, but because they are exercising self-control for an immediately noticeable benefit, and that's honestly easier to feel rewarded by.
4. People are not going to want to go to the doctor unless it's an emergency. For some - not all - that's going to be motivating to try and take better care of themselves. That, too, would help the obesity epidemic.
5. Also, for young couples...well, they are going to be in close quarters for longer periods and sex burns calories. That's all I'm sayin'.
I think the only way we'll really be seeing the obesity epidemic get worse is if everybody staying at home has enough money to buy tons of junk food, and the junk food is readily available. That could be problematic with depression, fear, and the lack of spaces to move.
But I if those two things aren't present, I think we're going to see a lot of lost weight, some of it from the negative consequences of being in an epidemic.7 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »I'm one of those in an extremely small space. My condo is a one bedroom, just under 700 sq feet. If I push all the furniture in the living room as far back as it will go, I can fit a yoga mat in longways, but can't spread my arms fully out to the sides. I don't really know much about what's on YouTube, but I know that's not enough room for things I used to do in aerobics type classes back in the day. I thought this would be a good time to start C25K or something, but they're predicting 4-6" of snow tomorrow and Friday, so that option seems to have disappeared as well for the time being. Luckily, stress goes right to my stomach, so too many calories has not yet been a concern for me.
Don't know where you are but in most of the US 4-6 inches of snow this time of year will be gone fast. Do you have anything preventing you from walking if there is a bit of snow on the ground?
Good luck.
It mostly depends on whether people get their walks shoveled in a timely fashion. I live in an old neighborhood where most of the sidewalks are broken up and uneven from tree roots and stuff. If it’s snow covered and icy, it’s more treacherous than productive. It’s supposed to snow through Friday, so hopefully it will melt off quickly. I still hate doing it alone. It honestly doesn’t matter if I’m inside or out, it’s the deafening isolation that’s already getting to me.
Microspikes and Yaktrax are great in snow and ice.
The usual problem where I live with running on the sidewalks much of the winter is that you get a stretch of pavement followed by a stretch (or even just various patches) of ice followed by perhaps some snow (since people did a bad job shoveling) and so on. I have Yaktrax but haven't really used them since my understanding has been that they wouldn't be good on the pavement parts. Am I wrong? It's late enough in the year that I'm not worried about it (knock on wood), but that ice/pavement/ice/pavement type of condition is the main thing that keeps me from running outside more consistently in the winter.
I have Microspikes, I've worn them on hikes with snow and intermittent melted out rock. I've walked over plenty of bare ground with them because I'm lazy enough not to keep taking them on and off. It's not ideal, but it's workable. It'll eventually grind them down, but there's a lot of metal so it'll take a very long time. I haven't worn Yaktrax personally, I have a friend that likes hers, that's as much as I can really say.
I wouldn't want to run in them just because it's more weight on your feet. My friend does it. I was responding because it sounded like people think they can't even go out and walk if there's snow and ice.2 -
This is what happens for us who want to stay busy when they close the gyms...10 -
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Apart from activity levels I guess it depends on your eating response to stress.
some people comfort eat more when stressed - but tends to have opposite effect on me, I feel sick and lose my appetite.4
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