Lockdowns have made people seek comfort in eating mostly junk food, exercise less, feel more anxious and sleep-deprived
If the coronavirus we all have been fighting since early last year is an invisible enemy, the pandemic-induced isolation has also brought us face to face with an embarrassingly visible enemy: obesity.
The lockdowns have made people more sedentary, seek comfort in eating mostly junk food, exercise less, feel more anxious and sleep-deprived. For many, “flatten the curve” means not just taming the virus but also disciplining the rogue curves of a body that is failing to fit into last year’s skinny jeans.
Binge-eating has become a by-product of despair. It is as if we are feeding the soul more than feeding the stomach, a path that is bound to send us on a crushing guilt trip. Triglycerides and LDL Cholesterol are the new age demons feeding into our collective existential angst.
The curse of calories is truly upon us.
Those who were already struggling with obesity before the pandemic outbreak now face far greater health risks. There has been growing evidence that links obesity and Covid-19 with an increased risk of higher mortality rates. Being cut off from gyms, community cardio sessions and Kardashian-inspired fitness goals meant virtually no physical activity while Work From Home (WFH) option, OTT platforms and food delivery apps are confining people to their couches.
One must be wondering why there has been a sudden blitzkrieg of online advertisements on weight loss programmes. Facebook Twitter feeds are full of ads, offering a whole range of online fitness training, customised diets, fat-shredding supplements, and intermittent fasting apps. It seems the merchants of wellness will not rest until they make you fit and thinner.
Where there is insecurity and unhappiness, there is a business potential waiting to be tapped. So, here come the weight-loss profiteers, dressed up as calorie warriors, offering easy ways to win the battle against the bulging waistlines.
We are told that we should urgently get off our couches and get back into shape — by buying their app or signing up for their meal-delivery service or enrolling in their fitness programmes. The wellness corporations are virtually scouring your browsing history. If they find even a faint sign of your misery about growing BMI (Body Mass Index), they will pounce on you with a clutch of diet and fitness packages that promise to liberate you from the vicious cycle of sinful eating and self-shaming guilt.
No wonder that the weight loss and weight management diet market size, valued at $192.2 billion in 2019, is projected to reach $295.3 billion by 2027, registering a 7% growth. The Indian Dietary Supplement Market, which was valued at $3924.44 million in FY2020, is predicted to grow at over 17% to reach $10,198.57 million by FY2026.
For decades, weight management has been a seasonal business with weight loss products being traditionally marketed just after holiday seasons, particularly in the initial months of the year. This is because of the consumers’ New Year’s fitness resolutions. However, the trend is changing now. For instance, throughout 2020, Google Trends reported that more people than ever searched for “weight loss” outside the peak season in January. The highest peak appeared in May last year when national lockdown restrictions came into effect in many countries.
“Quarantine 15” is the new word added to the pandemic-related lexicon. It alludes to coming out of the Covid-19-imposed isolation with an extra 15 pounds.
When we are worried or frightened, we are more likely to seek out sugars, fats and carbs for a quick energy boost. These comfort foods act like a natural tranquiliser that calms us down in times of peril. But what feels like a satisfying solution in the short term grows into a bigger problem in the long run. Comfort eating traps us in a hard-to-break eating cycle that adds to stress levels, resulting in serious health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity, as well as emotional problems, such as depression and anxiety.
The uncertainty the pandemic has brought to every aspect of life has caused increased snacking and emotional eating. To combat this phenomenon, consumers are looking for “satiety without stress,” which means ingredients that can reduce both appetite and stress.
A study, carried out by researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, USA, covering nearly 8,000 adults from 50 countries, found that most people became sedentary during the pandemic, regardless of the geography. But even when people did engage in structured exercise, it tended to be at lower intensity levels compared to the pre-pandemic times.
Nearly 30% of those surveyed said they had gained weight after the initial lockdowns went into effect. The figure was even higher among people classified as obese. Another survey found that about a third of Americans said they had gained weight during the pandemic.
Technology has been a great enabler of fitness, ranging from calorie recorders, GPS-led fitness trackers, aggregators of studio classes to wearables and AR (Augmented Reality) screens that monitor training. The lockdown has given the digital products in the fitness and diet space a big boost. For instance, healthifyMe, an Indian digital health and wellness platform that provides services such as calorie tracking, one-on-one nutrition and fitness coaching, and diet and workout plans, has helped people collectively lose two million kilograms in nine months in 2020-21, against the previous year’s one million kilograms.
Similarly, another player — ARVA that focuses on yoga-based wellness — recorded 1,440 hours of yoga and meditation videos over the last year. With their 60-odd ground studios being shut due to the pandemic, the mobile app took precedence, requiring them to do a pivot to a digital-only model.
Instead of wallowing in guilt over gaining weight, a holistic health approach is needed to manage weight. With people spending more time at home than ever before, nutritional solutions that can be easily integrated into daily diets and lifestyles are an easy win.
Merely focusing on the number on the scale will not get us anywhere. Instead, we need to turn our attention to healthy habits that include moderate eating and exercise, and set achievable goals that can influence our weight positively.
(The author is a senior journalist based in Hyderabad)
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