By Leah S. Dunaief
First is the problem, then comes a solution.
When I was in the supermarket this past weekend, in addition to the bok choy and grapefruit in my basket, I threw in a bag of pretzels and one of sour-cream-and-chives potato chips.
At the checkout aisle, I was surprised to find them there since I don’t tend to buy such snack foods, although I will eat them if offered a handful by a generous soul. I hesitated but I did not put them back.
Somehow, after all the lockdown and stress caused by COVID-19, I felt entitled to them. Besides, they were small bags. I took them home and scarfed them down over the next couple of days with only the tiniest twinge of guilt.
Sound familiar?
An article in Tuesday’s The New York Times spoke directly to me. “Pandemic Begets Weight Gain and Stress,” by Anahad O’Connor, informed me that I was not alone in my aberrant behavior. “The coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns led to big changes in health behaviors, prompting people to cut back on physical activity and eat more junk foods,” the article said, confirming that I was just one of the crowd.
A global study, published in the scientific journal Obesity and carried out by members of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, surveyed some 8,000 adults from 50 countries and every state in the U.S. The researchers found that, “the decline in healthy behaviors during the pandemic and widespread lockdowns was fairly common regardless of geography.”
Even if everyone is well in our family, our eating habits have worsened, our exercise routines have largely declined, our social contacts have diminished as we have become cut off from friends and family, and for some, there has been a frightening economic crisis as jobs have been lost or diminished. All of that has been as a result of the huge disruption in our daily lives by the virus. About 27% of those surveyed said they had gained weight.
And there is more. Anxiety levels have risen dramatically, logically out of fear of contagion or job loss. Even TUMS, and other common remedies for heartburn, are scarce in drugstores. Because people are anxious, they may have trouble sleeping, which in turn can result is less energy to exercise and more urge to eat junk food and then gain weight in an ongoing downward cycle. About 44% or almost half of the people in the survey said they had trouble sleeping.
There is a thin silver lining, it should be said. Probably those who managed to increase their activity level, 17% of those surveyed reported weight loss. With home cooking and focus on healthier foods, like fruits and less fried dishes, many did show an increase in their “healthy eating scores,” according to the article. Others are discovering new ingredients and are looking for ways to make healthier food, according to The Times. So what to do?
Recognizing the problem is always the first step toward correction. Dr. Emily Flanagan, the author of the study, “hoped the findings might inspire people to take steps to be more proactive about their health, such as seeking out mental health specialists, prioritizing sleep and finding ways to exercise at home and cook more, in the event of future lockdowns.”
Conveniently, at the top of the same page of the newspaper, there was an article headed, “Exercise 11 Minutes a Day for a Longer Life.” Again based on a study, its data offered the conclusion that such a daily regimen may ease the effects of sitting for prolonged periods of time, something we are forced by colder weather, and especially the virus, into doing. “Multiple past epidemiological studies show links between sitting and mortality. In general, in these studies, couch bound people are far more likely to die prematurely than active people are.”
So there you are. Whenever the urge to eat some junk food presents itself, instead let’s get up and move it, move it.
Angela Palumbo is a Long Island native and recent college graduate from SUNY Cortland with a degree in communications and journalism with a minor in professional writing. Angela is currently studying remotely at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism for her masters in journalism with a concentration in business and economic reporting. 
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