Unwanted Weight Gain or Loss During the Pandemic? Stress could be to blame.

1. Unwanted Weight Gain or Loss During the Pandemic?
Stress could be to blame.
If you've experienced unwanted weight gain or loss during the pandemic, you are
not alone. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association, 61% of
adults in the United States reported an unwanted weight change since the beginning
of the pandemic.
The results, published in March 2021, showed that during the pandemic, 42% of those
surveyed gained unwanted weight - 29 pounds on average (13 kilos) - and almost 10%
of those people gained more than 50 pounds (22 kilos). On the other hand, almost
18% of Americans reported experiencing unwanted weight loss - an average of 26
pounds (12 kilos).
Another study published in March evaluated weight change in 269 people from
February to June 2020. The researchers found, on average, that people gained a
constant 1.5 pounds (.7 kilos) per month.
I am a nutritional neuroscientist , and my research studies the relationship between
diet, lifestyle, stress, and mental distress, such as anxiety and depression.
The common denominator of changes in body weight, especially during a pandemic,
is stress. Another survey conducted by the American Psychological Association in
January 2021 revealed that about 84% of American adults experienced at least one
emotion associated with prolonged stress in the previous two weeks.

2. The findings on unwanted weight changes make sense in a stressful world, especially
in the context of the body's stress response, better known as the fight or flight
response.
Fight, flight and food
The fight or flight response is an innate reaction that evolved as a
survival mechanism. It allows humans to react quickly to acute
stress - such as a predator - or to adapt to chronic stress - such as
food shortages. In the face of stress, the body wants to keep the
brain alert. It lowers the levels of some hormones and brain
chemicals to ward off behaviors that won't help in an emergency
situation, and it raises other hormones that will.
When under the influence of stress, the body lowers the levels of
neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin .
Serotonin regulates emotions, appetite, and digestion. Thus, low
serotonin levels increase anxiety and can change a person's eating
habits . Dopamine - another wellness neurotransmitter - regulates
goal-oriented motivation . Decreased dopamine levels can translate
into less motivation to exercise, maintain a healthy lifestyle, or
perform daily tasks. When people are stressed, they also produce
less melatonin, the sleep hormone, which causes problems
sleeping.

3. Epinephrine and norepinephrine mediate physiological changes
associated with stress and are elevated in stressful situations .
These biochemical changes can cause mood swings, influence
people's eating habits, reduce goal-oriented motivation, and alter a
person's circadian rhythm.
In general, stress can throw off eating habits and motivation to
exercise or eat healthy, and the past year has certainly been
stressful for everyone.
Easy calories, little motivation
In both studies, people reported their weight and the
researchers did not collect any information on
physical activity. But it can be cautiously assumed
that most of the weight changes were due to people
gaining or losing body fat.
So why have people gained or lost weight in the
past year? And what explains the drastic
differences?

4. Many people find comfort in high-calorie foods. This
is because chocolate and other sweets can make us
happy by increasing serotonin levels in the short
term . However, the blood removes the extra sugar
very quickly, so the mental stimulus is short-lived,
leading people to eat more. Eating for comfort can
be a natural response to stress, but when combined
with decreased motivation to exercise and the
consumption of low-nutrient, calorie-dense foods,
stress can lead to unwanted weight gain.
What about weight loss? Simply put, the brain is
connected to the gut through a two-way
communication system called the vagus nerve .
When you're stressed, the body inhibits the signals
that travel through the vagus nerve and slows down
the digestive process. When this happens, people
experience satiety.
In some countries, and also in the United States, the
pandemic has led to an increase in hunger . The lack
of food and / or money to buy it are other reasons
why people may have lost weight unintentionally.
In other countries, the pandemic left many people
confined to their homes, bored and with lots of food
and little to amuse themselves. If the stress factor is
added to this scenario, it is the perfect situation for
unwanted weight changes to occur.

5. Stress will always be a part of life, but there are
things that can be done like - practicing positive
self-talk - that can help avoid the stress response
and some of its unintended consequences.