Weight gain, poor mental health and increased sedentary hours among Malaysian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The Movement Control Orders (MCO) in Malaysia due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the lifestyle behaviours, weight changes, and mental health of the population. AIM: To determine the changes in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, body weight status and mental health status among Malaysian adults before and during the pandemic. METHODS: A total of 338 Malaysian adults participated in this cross-sectional online study. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were self-reported. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour were assessed using International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) while the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) were used to examine stress, depression and anxiety, respectively. All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 28.0. RESULTS: The results showed an average weight gain of 0.6 kg among the participants with 45.5% of them experiencing weight gain. In addition, sedentary behaviour (p < 0.001), PSS-10 score (p < 0.001), PHQ-9 score (p = 0.002) and GAD-7 score (p = 0.001) were significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas the level of physical activity was significantly decreased (p = 0.003) during the pandemic. Weight changes during the pandemic were found to be associated with age, sedentary hours, and PHQ-9 score. Through binary logistic regression, sedentary hours (AOR = 1.068, 95% CI = 1.002–1.139, p = 0.043) were identified to be a risk factor for weight gain during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The findings suggested that public health interventions to prevent weight gain should focus on strategies to increase physical activity for sedentary lifestyles.