scholarly journals Binge Watching during COVID-19: Associations with Stress and Body Weight

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 3418
Author(s):  
Anahys H. Aghababian ◽  
Jennifer R. Sadler ◽  
Elena Jansen ◽  
Gita Thapaliya ◽  
Kimberly R. Smith ◽  
...  

Binge watching is becoming increasingly common and may impact energy balance and body weight. The COVID-19 pandemic has created conditions conducive to binge watching and increased stress. We investigated relationships between COVID-related stress and binge watching behaviors, and potential variation in this relationship by body weight. Adults (n = 466) completed a cross-sectional online survey assessing binge watching behaviors during and before the pandemic, COVID-related stress, and body weight. Participants reported an increase in binge watching frequency from before to during the pandemic (F1,401 = 99.970, p < 0.001), with rates of high binge watching (“3–4 times per week” to “3 or more times per day”) increasing from 14.6% to 33.0%. Binge watching episode duration increased from 3.26 ± 1.89 h to 3.92 ± 2.08 h (p < 0.001). The increase in binge watching frequency was greatest in individuals with obesity and high stress (F 4,401 = 4.098, p = 0.003). Participants reporting high stress reported higher frequency of eating while binge watching, as well as higher levels of negative emotional triggers, consequences to binge watching, and lack of control over binge watching (all p < 0.001). Our results show that binge watching increased during the pandemic, with greater increases among individuals reporting higher COVID-related stress, especially those with obesity, and concomitant effects on eating, and highlight a need for interventions to minimize the obesogenic impact of binge watching during the pandemic.

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L E Murchison ◽  
R Anbarasan ◽  
A Mathur ◽  
M Kulkarni

Abstract Introduction In the already high-risk, high-stress environment of the operating theatre, operating during Covid-19 has brought its own unique challenges. Communication, teamwork and anxiety related new operating practices secondary to Covid-19 are hypothesised to have a negative impact on patient care. Method We conducted a single-centre online survey of operating theatre staff from 22nd June–6th July 2020. Respondents completed 18 human factors questions related to COVID-19 precautions including communication, teamwork, situational awareness, decision making, stress, fatigue, work environment and organisational culture. Questions consisted of yes/no responses, multiple choice and Likert items. Kruskall-Wallis tests, Chi-Squared, Mann Whitney U tests, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, lambda and Cramer’s V tests were used. Free-text responses were also reviewed. Results 116 theatre staff responded. Visual (90.5%), hearing/ understanding (96.6%) difficulties, feeling faint/lightheaded (66.4%) and stress (47.8%) were reported. Decreased situational awareness was reported by 71.5% and correlated with visors (r = 0.27 and p = 0.03) and FFP2/3 mask usage (r = 0.29 and p = 0.01). Reduced efficiency of theatre teams was reported by 75% of respondents and 21.5% felt patient safety was at greater risk due to Covid-19 precautions in theatre. Conclusions Organisational adjustments are required, and research focused on development of fit-for-purpose personal protective equipment (PPE).


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Nituica ◽  
Oana Alina Bota ◽  
John Blebea ◽  
Chin-I Cheng ◽  
Gus J. Slotman

Abstract Background Residency training exposes young physicians to a challenging and high-stress environment, making them vulnerable to burnout. Burnout syndrome not only compromises the health and wellness of resident physicians but has also been linked to prescription errors, reduction in the quality of medical care, and decreased professionalism. This study explored burnout and factors influencing resilience among U.S. resident physicians. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey, which was distributed to all accredited residency programs by Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The survey included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 25), Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory, and socio-demographic characteristics questions. The association between burnout, resilience, and socio-demographic characteristics were examined. Results The 682 respondents had a mean CD-RISC score of 72.41 (Standard Deviation = 12.1), which was equivalent to the bottom 25th percentile of the general population. Males and upper-level trainees were more resilient than females and junior residents. No significant differences in resilience were found associated with age, race, marital status, or training program type. Resilience positively correlated with personal achievement, family, and institutional support (p <  0.001) and negatively associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (p <   0.001). Conclusions High resilience, family, and institutional support were associated with a lower risk of burnout, supporting the need for developing a resilience training program to promote a lifetime of mental wellness for future physicians.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-322
Author(s):  
Martins Olanrewaju Atunde ◽  
Johnson Abiodun Medupin ◽  
Saliu Ishaq Alabi ◽  
Abdulganiyu Adebayo Tijani ◽  
Olabode Awarun ◽  
...  

Background: Incidents of occupational stress among academicians globally is on the rise, despite its impending effects and prospects of coping strategies suggested in literature. Objective: This study examines occupational stress among university faculty staff and its outcomes on university goal achievements in Kwara State, Nigeria.  Methods: The study was a cross-sectional survey. A multi-stage sampling technique was used for the selection of 458 faculty staff. Data were collected with the use of a 57-item questionnaire. Results: Results reveal that the level of stress among faculty staff was high (3.25), while stress level differs based on gender (p<.05), age (p<.01), marital status (p<.01), work experience (p<.05) and ownership of workplace (p<.05). The prominent risk associated with occupational-related stress are organizational-related (cluster mean 3.26) and role-related (CM 3.26) factors. Findings further indicate that the social support (CM 3.00) and individual-focused (CM 2.91) coping strategies were moderately adopted for managing occupational-related stress among university faculty, while the organizational support coping strategy was utilized to a low extent (CM 2.47). Conclusion and Recommendation: The study findings implicate the attainment of university goals in terms of delivering quality teaching, research and promoting scholarship and community service. Thus, the mitigation of occupational-related stress requires individual, social and most especially workplace-level interventions. Implications: The research would enable university administrators in designing appropriate workplace policies and intervention strategies or programmes for minimizing high-stress level, risk factors and their attendant effects so that faculty staff can cope effectively with work demands for the enhanced achievements of university goals.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldebarán Toledo-Fernández ◽  
Diana Betancourt-Ocampo ◽  
Héctor Romo-Parra ◽  
Ernesto Reyes-Zamorano ◽  
Alejandro González-González

The objectives of this study were to describe severity of psychological distress (event-related stress, anxiety, and depression) during the second stage of COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, and to explore associations between the indicators of psychological distress, sociodemographic characteristics and specific concerns about COVID-19. This report serves as a baseline measure of a longitudinal project to evaluate progression of psychological distress across stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. An online survey was conducted in the State of Mexico from April 8th -18th, 2020, in a sample of men and women who are beneficiaries of a welfare institution in the region. Variables were measured with the Impact of Event Scale-6, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety Disoder-7, and a questionnaire of concerns about COVID-19. A total of 5974 participants were analyzed. Moderate levels of psychological distress (with 23.6% of participants meeting significant event-related stress, but mild levels of depression and anxiety) were found, as well as high values in all concerns about COVID-19, especially regarding financial disruption, worsening of local security and concern of a family member becoming infected. These concerns associated mild-to-moderately with the indicators of psychological distress. Higher values of event-related distress were found in women, individuals with higher educational attainment and those with any current high-risk medical diagnosis, though the effect sizes were mild. Though psychological distress and concerns about COVID-19 have reached significant levels during the pandemic in Mexico, overall, they have not yet reached dysfunctional levels.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kushal Grakh ◽  
Vijay Jayawant Jadhav ◽  
Diksha Panwar ◽  
Rajesh Khurana ◽  
Yogesh Chanderkant Bangar ◽  
...  

Abstract Background As an intensive professional training program veterinary education presents high academic and non-academic stressors to students. Identifying the stressors responsible and measuring the stress among veterinary students can prove useful to design any coping strategies to safeguard the mental health of students. Methods With the aim to identify the stressors responsible, measure the level of stress, relation of stress with variables such as gender and family income 44 item based cross sectional questionnaire survey was designed and distributed among veterinary students of India. Results The questionnaire yielded high internal consistency. More than 95% students were found to be under stress. Maximum students reported high stress due to academic related stressors. Female students reported high overall stress, academic stress, and intrapersonal and interpersonal related stress than male students. Students with lower family incomes experienced more overall stress as well as family responsibilities related stress. Conclusions Gender, family income, academic stressors, intrapersonal, interpersonal and conflict related stressors, and social activities related stressors positively predicted the overall stress among the students and thus these factors can be given special emphasis while designing any stress combating or reducing measures for veterinary students of India.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-49
Author(s):  
Martins Olanrewaju Atunde ◽  
Johnson Abiodun Medupin ◽  
Saliu Ishaq Alabi ◽  
Olabode Awarun ◽  
Janet Oluwakemi Oladejobio ◽  
...  

This study examined occupational-related stress among university faculty staff and its implications on goal attainment of universities in Kwara State, Nigeria.  The research design was a descriptive research of a cross-sectional survey. Multi-stage sampling technique was used for the selection of 458 faculty staff. Data were collected with the use of 57-item questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed with relevant statistics like percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings revealed that the level of stress among faculty staff was high (3.25), while stress level differs based on gender (p<.05), age (p<.01), marital status (p<.01), work experience (p<.05) and ownership of workplace (p<.05). The prominent risk associated with occupational-related stress were the organizational-related (cluster mean 3.26) and role-related (CM 3.26) factors. Finding further indicated that the social support (CM 3.00) and individual-focused (CM 2.91) coping strategies were moderately adopted for managing occupational-related stress among university faculty, while the organizational support coping strategy was utilized to a low extent (CM 2.47). The findings implicate the attainment of university goals because of the negative effect high-stress level will have on the physiological and behavioural state of faculty staff adding to destructive work and health anomalies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Ewa Drywień ◽  
Jadwiga Hamulka ◽  
Monika A. Zielinska-Pukos ◽  
Marta Jeruszka-Bielak ◽  
Magdalena Górnicka

There is limited information on the relationships between restrictions linked to COVID-19 and changes in body weight. The aim of the study was to identify the body weight changes and their determinants in the nutritional and socio-demographic context during the COVID-19 pandemic in Polish women. During lockdown in Poland, 34% of women gained weight, while 18% of women reduced weight. As many as 44% of women with obesity before the pandemic increased their body weight, and 74% of women that were underweight reduced their body weight. In a group with weight gain, women increased their body weight by 2.8 kg on average and around 65% of them increased their total food intake. Unhealthy dietary changes and the negative lifestyle changes that comprised of an increase in screen time and a decrease in physical activity were found as key factors associated with weight gain. A higher risk of weight gain was associated with being obese before the pandemic or living in a macroeconomic region >50% of EU-28 GDP, while those younger in age and carrying out remote work had a higher chance of weight loss. Concluding, the specific conditions during lockdown worsened the nutritional status, which may increase the risk of complicatedness and mortality from COVID-19. It seems advisable to create dietary and lifestyle recommendations tailored to the individual needs of women who are underweight or have excessive body weight. More attention should be paid also to environmental impacts. Both, the reduction of excessive body weight and the maintenance of a normal weight should be based on the principle to eat and live sustainably and healthily.


Author(s):  
Elyse R. Grossman ◽  
Sara E. Benjamin-Neelon ◽  
Susan Sonnenschein

Emerging but limited evidence suggests that alcohol consumption has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed: (1) whether drinking behaviors changed during the pandemic; and, (2) how those changes were impacted by COVID-19-related stress. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey with a convenience sample of U.S. adults over 21 years in May 2020. We conducted adjusted linear regressions to assess COVID-19 stress and alcohol consumption, adjusting for gender, race, ethnicity, age, and household income. A total of 832 responded: 84% female, 85% White, and 72% ages 26–49. Participants reported consuming 26.8 alcohol drinks on 12.2 of the past 30 days. One-third of participants (34.1%) reported binge drinking and 7.0% reported extreme binge drinking. Participants who experienced COVID-19-related stress (versus not) reported consuming more drinks (β = 4.7; CI (0.2, 9.1); p = 0.040) and a greater number of days drinking (β = 2.4; CI (0.6, 4.1); p = 0.007). Additionally, 60% reported increased drinking but 13% reported decreased drinking, compared to pre-COVID-19. Reasons for increased drinking included increased stress (45.7%), increased alcohol availability (34.4%), and boredom (30.1%). Participants who reported being stressed by the pandemic consumed more drinks over a greater number of days, which raises concerns from both an individual and public health perspective.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 671
Author(s):  
Surabhi Bhutani ◽  
Michelle R. vanDellen ◽  
Jamie A. Cooper

Cross-sectional analyses have shown increased obesogenic behaviors and a potential for weight gain during COVID-19 related peak-lockdown (March–May 2020), but longitudinal data are lacking. This study assessed longitudinal changes in body weight and lifestyle behaviors in the US adults during the pandemic. Methods: We used Qualtrics survey to collect self-reported data on body weight, dietary, physical activity, and psychological variables (n = 727) during the peak-lockdown (April/May) and at post-lockdown (September/October). Peak-lockdown weight data were categorized based on the magnitude of weight gained, maintained, or lost, and behavioral differences were examined between categories at two time points. Results: Body weight increased (+0.62 kg; p < 0.05) at the post-lockdown period. The body mass index also increased (26.38 ± 5.98 kg/m2 vs. 26.12 ± 5.81 kg/m2; p < 0.01) at the post-lockdown period vs. peak-lockdown period. Close to 40% of participants reported gaining either 1–4 lbs or >5 lbs of body weight during the peak-lockdown, while 18.2% lost weight. Weight-gainers engaged in riskier dietary behaviors such as frequent ultra-processed food intake (p < 0.01) and snacking (p < 0.001), were less active, and reported high stress and less craving control during peak-lockdown. Of those gaining >5 lbs, 33% continued to gain weight after the lockdown eased, while 28% maintain higher body weight. In weight-gainers, takeout meal frequency increased, and high ultra-processed food intake and stress, and low craving control continued to persist after the lockdown eased. Conclusion: We show that the COVID-19 lockdown periods disrupted weight management among many Americans and that associated health effects are likely to persist.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document