Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on body mass index in young adults

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. We conducted our research on the supposition that in pandemic context the student’s weight might increase, influencing consequently BMI values. For the present moment humankind must cope with important changes and regulation which have massively impacted our daily lives. Social distancing measures taken in many schools and universities for limiting exposure and transmission coronavirus run counter how the education process is operating usually. The question that this context rises is: how people in general and especially young people are coping with this lack of physical activity and physical education changes? Material and Methods. In this study were involved 176 male university students, 19.3±0.67 years of age, divided in two equal groups: the first one measured in 2018, with regular physical activity in face-to-face mode and the second one measured in the end of 2020, after almost one year of remote learning. Results. In between the two measurements the BMI increased with 1.8 kg/m2, primarily because weight gain. It results that in just two years the percentage of young men with weight issues had a significant increase from 19.3% to 33%. Applying Bonferroni correction for two tests and p < 0.05 it turns out that the two data samples are different with a statistical confidence >95%. Conclusions. Under the pandemic circumstances the energy balance between food consumption and physical activity was seriously disturbed, resulting in an increased BMI. Our results confirm this tendency presented in other studies on samples of adolescents and young adults, from different countries and regions.