COVID- 19 outbreak: Does confinement have any impact on weight change perception?

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between factors related to COVID-19 confinement (i.e., fear of COVID-19, anxiety, anger, boredom, eating disorders, and duration of confinement) and weight perception in a sample of the Lebanese population. METHODS: A cross-sectional web-based survey carried out at a one-time point between April 3 and 18, 2020, enrolled 407 participants. Due to the imposed lockdown, respondents self-reported their weight and height. One dichotomized question (positive/negative) assessed the perception of weight change (yes = change perception, and no = no change perception). The variation in BMI was calculated by subtracting the estimated weight during confinement from the estimated weight before. RESULTS: No significant variation in BMI was detected before and during the confinement (p = 0.40), while a perceived weight change was found in 212 (52.1%) participants. The regression analysis showed that higher fear of COVID-19 score (ORa = 0.96) and higher self-reported weight change (ORa = 0.47) were associated with lower weight change perception. However, longer confinement duration (ORa = 1.07), higher anxiety (ORa = 1.05), and high eating concerns (ORa = 1.81) were associated with higher weight change perception. CONCLUSION: Our results revealed that both the fear of COVID-19 and self-reported weight change were negatively associated with weight change perception, while higher anxiety and a longer duration of confinement correlated with a higher weight change perception. Further studies are necessary to confirm our findings.