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. 2022 Mar 16;8(5):682-687.
doi: 10.1002/osp4.601. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Medical weight management protects against weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic

Sarah R Barenbaum  1 , Katherine H Saunders  1 , Karina M Chan  2 , William J Crowley  3 , Ilana P Redmond  4 , Anthony J Casper  1 , Katie C Hootman  5 , Rajasekhar Ramakrishnan  6 , Louis J Aronne  1 , Alpana P Shukla  1
Affiliations

Medical weight management protects against weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic

Sarah R Barenbaum et al. Obes Sci Pract. .

Abstract

Background: American adults have gained weight during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about how patients who are medically managed for overweight and obesity, including patients who are prescribed antiobesity pharmacotherapy, have fared.

Objective: To assess the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on weight, food choices, and health behaviors in patients receiving medical treatment for overweight or obesity.

Methods: Adult patients treated at an urban academic weight management center between 1 May 2019 and 1 May 2020 were electronically surveyed between 23 February and 23 March 2021. The survey assessed changes in weight, eating, behaviors, and the use of antiobesity medications (AOMs) following issuance of social distancing/stay-at-home policies in March 2020.

Results: In 970 respondents, median percent weight change for those taking AOMs was -0.459% [interquartile range -5.46%-(+3.73%)] compared to +2.33% [IQR -1.92%-(+6.52%)] for those not taking AOMs (p < 0.001). More participants achieved ≥5% weight loss if they were taking AOMs compared to those who were not (26.7% vs. 15.8%, p = 0.004), and weight gain ≥5% was also lower in those taking AOMs (19.8% vs. 30.3%, p = 0.004). Patients with pre-pandemic BMI ≥30 kg/m2 taking AOMs experienced the greatest weight reduction, and there was greater weight loss associated with increased physical activity.

Conclusions and relevance: Medical weight management protected against weight gain during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased physical activity, decreased alcohol intake, and use of AOMs were factors that contributed to this protective effect.

Keywords: COVID‐19 pandemic; antiobesity pharmacotherapy; obesity; weight gain; weight management.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Hootman reports being a consultant for Faeth Therapeutics, Inc.; and an educational program reviewer for PESI, Inc. Dr. Saunders reports ownership/stock/management interest in Intellihealth. Dr. Aronne reports receiving consulting fees from/and serving on advisory boards for Gelesis, Jamieson Wellness, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Real Appeal and Eli Lilly; receiving research funding from Allurion, Astra Zeneca, Gelesis, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly; having equity interests in Allurion, ERX Pharmaceuticals, Gelesis, Intellihealth, Jamieson Wellness, Myos Corp and Zafgen; and serving on a board of directors for Intellihealth and Jamieson Wellness. The rest of the authors report no disclosures.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Percent weight change versus pre‐pandemic BMI, stratified by antiobesity medications (AOMs) usage. Panel A included participants with BMI <30 kg/m2 and panel B included participants with BMI ≥30 kg/m2
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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