Objective

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated extreme physical, psychological, and social consequences across the world, many of which have the potential to exacerbate disordered eating and exercise behaviors. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively assess changes in eating pathology and exercise behaviors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in a community sample.

Method

Participants (n = 159, M_age = 27.59 years, 90.6% female) were individuals in the United States surveyed during COVID-19. Participants completed measures quantifying eating pathology, exercise behaviors, and motives for exercise both prior to and during the pandemic.

Results

All results compare variables prior to and during COVID-19. Overall, individuals with a prior eating disorder (ED) diagnosis did not report significantly different changes in eating or exercise pathology compared to the non-ED group. Participants had significantly fewer episodes of overeating (p < .05, d = −0.23) and eating with loss of control (p < .05, d = −0.23), but not objective binge episodes. Respondents also indicated an overall decrease in time spent on strength/weight activity (p < .05, d = −0.34) and increase in cardiovascular activity (p < .05, d = 0.19), as well as significant changes in motives for exercise.

Discussion

Our results suggest that in a sample of primarily young adult females, with and without a prior ED, exercise behaviors and motives, but not eating pathology, shifted significantly in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further longitudinal studies examining the maintenance and potential risk of these changes are warranted, particularly in individuals at high risk, as the pandemic continues.

中文翻译：

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社区样本中 COVID-19 大流行期间饮食和运动行为的变化：回顾性报告

客观的

COVID-19 大流行在世界范围内产生了极端的身体、心理和社会后果，其中许多后果有可能加剧饮食失调和运动行为。本研究的目的是回顾性评估社区样本中 COVID-19 大流行导致的饮食病理学和运动行为的变化。

方法

参与者（n  = 159，M_年龄 = 27.59 岁，90.6% 为女性）是 COVID-19 期间在美国接受调查的个人。参与者完成了在大流行之前和期间量化饮食病理学、运动行为和运动动机的措施。

结果

所有结果都比较了 COVID-19 之前和期间的变量。总体而言，与非 ED 组相比，先前有进食障碍 (ED) 诊断的个体在进食或运动病理学方面没有报告显着不同的变化。参与者暴饮暴食 ( p  < .05, d  = −0.23) 和失控进食 ( p  < .05, d = −0.23) 的次数明显减少 ，但客观的暴饮暴食次数没有。受访者还表示，在力量/重量活动上花费的时间总体减少 ( p  < .05，d  = −0.34) 和心血管活动增加 ( p  < .05，d  = 0.19)，以及运动动机的显着变化.

讨论

我们的研究结果表明，在 COVID-19 大流行的头几个月，在主要是年轻成年女性的样本中，无论是否有过 ED，运动行为和动机（但饮食病理）都发生了显着变化。随着大流行的继续，有必要进一步纵向研究检查这些变化的维持和潜在风险，特别是在高风险人群中。