What to do about lockdown weight

A Scottish dietitian and a Slimming World consultant talk to Nadia Vidinova about lockdown eating habits and what we can do to keep our weight healthy

W hen talking about food, the discussion often turns to weight – and it can be a loaded topic, with many people unhappy about the numbers on their scales, whether they’re low or high.

For some, lockdown exacerbated existing issues with food and mental health, as well as creating new problems related to weight as eating habits changed in these unprecedented times.

A recent study by King’s College London and Ipsos Mori surveyed 2,254 people, with 48% of respondents saying they have put on weight during lockdown, the same percentage reporting feeling more anxious or depressed than usual, and 29% saying they have drunk more alcohol.

Clearly, many of us reach for the snacks and the alcohol cabinet for comfort as we spend more time at home.

But we’re also taking action to counter this, with Slimming World, which runs groups in the north of Scotland, Tayside and Fife, seeing an increase in the numbers of people signing up for its online slimming classes during lockdown.

Dietitian Lorraine Mccready, founder of weight management service Diet Scotland, explains how and why our habits have changed during lockdown, and what we can do to keep our weight at a healthy level.

“People gain and lose weight all the time, and during lockdown we’ve been seeing a real mixture of habits,” she said.

“Some people may find they’re stuck in a rut. They might start nibbling and snacking out of boredom.

“On the other hand, I’m seeing a lot more people out walking and exercising, including people who wouldn’t have done this before lockdown.

“Also, if you look at the food items that sold out at the start of lockdown, it was things like pasta, flour and yeast, which are used for cooking from scratch.

“These things were sold out for quite a while, so clearly people’s behaviour was changing and so was their belief in what they can do in terms of cooking.

“There has also been a rise in sales of organic produce and an increasing awareness of what is healthy, as people look for foods that can boost their immunity.”

Lorraine explained that different people react differently to adversity and stress, with some people seeing it as a challenge, while others becoming insular and falling into unhealthy habits.

She added that although weight gain can become a problem if it’s chronic, we shouldn’t obsess over a few extra pounds gained during lockdown.

“Weight gain is a problem when it becomes morbid obesity and is linked with health problems,” she said.

“In the context of Covid-19, it could be dangerous if the person has diabetes and we also know that lung function is impaired, because the heavier you are the more limited your lung expansion due to the pressure on your chest if you’re carrying a lot of weight.

“If people just put on a few extra pounds during lockdown, I don’t think that in itself is worrying because when life goes back to normal they will probably shed that and it’s unlikely to have an effect on their health.

“However, people should be careful that lockdown habits don’t become ingrained, because we don’t know how long all this will go on for.

“Extra biscuits every day or an extra carry out meal per week over a long period of time will have an effect, so we do need to watch our long-term habits.”

Snacking is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to weight gain and simply reducing or stopping this altogether can make a big difference.

Reducing portion sizes and keeping a food diary are also good habits to get into.

“People say to me, ‘But I’ll be hungry’ and I say, ‘Well, what’s wrong with