Observational studyBMC public health2025
The impact of COVID-19 fear during the later stages of the pandemic on maladaptive eating, psychological distress and body weight: a global cross-sectional study.
Observational study in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04896060 (The Impact of the Food Environment and Psychosocial Stress From the COVID-19 Pandemic on Eating Behavior and Weight Change), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Impact of the Food Environment and Psychosocial Stress From the COVID-19 Pandemic on Eating Behavior and Weight Change
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Mediating Role of Appetitive Traits in the Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Body Mass Index of Malaysian Adults.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Functional Neurological Disorder Following COVID-19: Results From a Large International Electronic Health Record Database.European journal of neurology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted global mental health, leading to increased levels of fear, stress, and anxiety [1]. Previous research has suggested associations between functional fear of detrimental mental health outcomes and psychological stressors which may drive maladaptive eating behaviors. This study explored the associations between COVID-19 fear during later stages of the pandemic, psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and stress), maladaptive eating behaviors (emotional, uncontrolled, binge, and nighttime eating), and self-reported body weight.
methodsThis was a global cross-sectional survey conducted from February 2022 to February 2024, involving 4390 adults (70% female) from 25 countries. The survey collected information on demographics, psychosocial impact, eating behaviors, and COVID-19 related behaviors. General linear models, multinomial logistic regression modes, and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data.
resultsHigher fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with increased emotional and uncontrolled eating, even after adjusting for psychological distress and other covariates. Specifically, each unit increase in fear of COVID-19 scores was associated with a corresponding increase in emotional eating (β = 0.018) and uncontrolled eating (β = 0.029) behaviors (p-values < 0.0001). Furthermore, fear of COVID-19 was linked to higher odds of engaging in binge eating (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.07, p-value < 0.0001) and nighttime eating behaviors (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.06, p-value < 0.0001) in models adjusted for covariates; however, these associations were no longer significant when psychological distress variables were included. Fear of COVID-19 was also associated with body weight (β = 0.18) and BMI (β = 0.08) even with adjustments of covariates and psychological distress variables (p-values < 0.01). Structural equation modeling showed that fear of COVID-19 was related to current body weight through its impact on psychological distress and maladaptive eating behaviors.
conclusionsMaladaptive eating behaviors influenced by the psychological distress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic have persisted into the later stages of the pandemic. These results underscore an interconnectedness between functional fear and its influence on maladaptive eating behaviors and body weight. Understanding this link is crucial and has the potential to inform the development of public health policies.
trial registrationClinical Trials.gov NCT04896060 Date of Registration: May 21, 2021.
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