Psychological distress and its correlation with weight change in young adults in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the correlation between psychological distress and weight change in Malaysian young adults after the pandemic-led lockdowns. Socio-demographics, body height, body weight during the Movement Control Order 3.0 (MCO 3.0), and post-lockdown body weight (as of January 2022) were self-reported by the young adults. Psychological distress was assessed using a validated 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Of the 536 young adults, 54.1% experienced mild to extremely severe anxiety, 47.0% suffered mild to extremely severe depression, and 30.0% experienced mild to extremely severe stress in the post-lockdown pandemic phase. In reference to absolute weight change, 50.6% of the young adults gained weight due to confinement, with an average weight gain of 3.41 ± 2.49 kg. Conversely, 32.0% of the young adults had a lighter weight during the MCO 3.0 than before, with an average weight loss of 3.96 ± 2.76 kg. Additionally, the trajectory in body weight was also expressed in relative weight change. Findings revealed that 23.1% of the young adults gained weight in the post-lockdown pandemic phase, with an average relative weight gain of 9.04 ± 3.90%. On the contrary, approximately one-fifth (17.4%) of the young adults lost weight, with an average relative weight loss of −8.57 ± 2.79%. There were no significant correlations (p> 0.05) between depression, anxiety, and stress with absolute or relative weight change, even after controlling for the socio-demographic variation among young adults. The federal government of Malaysia should take necessary actions to alleviate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and reiterate the importance of sustaining a healthy body weight in young adults.