Pandemic weight gain an issue for all ages

Some are calling their weight gain during the pandemic, the COVID 19.

A year into the fight against the coronavirus, it’s becoming clear that weight gain was no joke.

A study by the American Psychological Association showed that 42 percent of adults gained more weight than they intended in the past year. Of that group, they gained an average of 29 pounds.

The weight gain was spread among all adult age groups. Fiftytwo percent of Gen Zers (ages 1824) had an undesired weight gain averaging 28 pounds Forty-eight percent of Millenials (25-42) saw an average undesired gain of 41 pounds.

Weight gain can cause a variety of health issues at any time.

of severe illness, according to the CDC. Also having obesity may triple the risk of hospitalization due to COVID. The weight gain numbers are not surprising to Dr. Kerstyn Zalesin, a long-time physician at Beaumont’s Weight Control Program.

“What I noticed is a strange observation. Probably about two-thirds of the patients I was talking to were struggling with weight gain and the issues surrounding — stress, adjustment issues, psychological grieving so to speak of the loss of their livelihood, and their normal day to day lives.’’

But then a third of her patients were thriving.

“Those patients had kind of like a reprieve. The pause brought on for them — they were on the treadmill experience before — they were able to take a breath, or not have to commute to their office everyday,’’ Zalesin said. “They found themselves with extra time, found themselves putting pieces together because now they had a luxury of more time.

“That was fewer and further between. What I saw mostly was people struggling,’’ she added.

The Beaumont program treats the overweight and obese both for surgical and non-surgical weight loss. The patient numbers have risen during the past year.

“What I’m seeing is patients reporting to me that things just got worse with the pandemic. It’s almost like the straw that broke the camel’s back — like (they’ll say) ‘I’ve had this issue before but since the pandemic I gained 20, 30, 40 pounds something like that,’’’ Zalesin said.

“I feel that became the tipping point to really prompt people to get some help now that we’re hopeful — hopefully — getting to the other side of this,’’ Zalesin said.

She’s optimistic that the vaccine will get people in a better mindset.

“It’s like the first bit of hope that’s been offered to us. Happiness is a side effect that nobody talks about,’’ Zalesin said.

Her hope is the vaccine will help reduce depression, stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed.

“The foundation of weight loss, you really can’t implement unless you have that readiness. You have to have that semblance of readiness to undertake these lifestyle changes. If you’re stressed out and worried that is not going to happen,’’ Zalesin said.

She said weight loss is like a marathon.

“You have to be constantly present, constantly vigilant, constantly engaging in lifestyle changes. It’s not just a temporary little thing — ‘I’m going to change this, stop eating this for the next month, lose weight and then go back to where I was.’ That’s a sure-fire recipe for weight regain. This is a whole lifestyle change,’’ Zalesin said.

During the pandemic, she said some people were afraid to leave their homes, even to go outside. For a while gyms were closed. Some depended on fast-food delivery to their doorstep. Some grazed while working from home.

“We’re still seeing people coming out of the woodwork, coming out of the shell-shocked environment. We’re still getting a ton of them every single day,’’ Zalesin said.

Beaumont’s program uses a multi-disciplinary approach with psychologists, dietitians, nutritionists in both group and individual settings.

“It’s been widely published that obesity is one of the major risk factors for the severity of the illness with COVID infections. I have had people tell me they understand and it’s more important now than ever,’’ Zalesin said. “They want to improve their health because they know they’re more vulnerable to the effects of the virus and the severeness of the illness related to it.’’

While it’s impossible to come up with a one-size-fitsall plan for those looking to lose weight, for starters Zalesin suggests:

• Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages including pop and juices.

• Avoid processed foods and meat.

• Get rid of food in a bag or box like crackers, chips and pastries.

• Work on foods from the ground - fruits, vegetables, legumes.

• Ideally lean protein sources - chicken, fish and lean meats.

Exercise is important. Walking is a good start but not for everyone.

“If you say 30 minutes five times a week, that’s not practical for a lot of people. For healthy younger patients, that’s probably a great place to start. That doesn’t include everybody,’’ Zalesin said.

She recommends her patients find what they can accomplish and gradually increase that amount about 10% each week.