Lockdowns linked to rise in eating disorder symptoms

London, March 11 : Lockdowns to help tackle the spread of Covid-19 could be linked to an increase in symptoms associated with eating disorders, new research suggests.
The study also found a reduction in exercise addiction symptoms post-lockdown, while levels of individual exercise increased from 6.5 hours per week in 2019 to 7.5 hours per week post-lockdown in 2020.
“We can’t say for certain that Covid-19 is responsible for this increase in behaviour associated with eating disorders,” said researcher Mike Trott, from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).
“However, we do know that people often use food as a coping mechanism for stress, and clearly many people have been impacted by stressful events and significant changes over the last 12 months,” Trott added.
For the study, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, the team examined the behaviour and attitudes of 319 health club members during the summer of 2020.
The researchers followed up initial research into addictive or unhealthy behaviours, conducted in 2019, to investigate the effects of the first Covid-19 restrictions introduced in the spring of 2020.