The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Eating Behavior and Weight Change
NCT ID: NCT04896060
Last Updated: 2025-12-26
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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COMPLETED
5056 participants
OBSERVATIONAL
2022-09-01
2025-02-13
Brief Summary
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The indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health are of increasing concern. Perceived stress can lead to binge eating and weight gain. Researchers want to learn more about the relationship between eating behavior and the pandemic.
Objective:
To study how the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting eating behaviors and weight.
Eligibility:
English-speaking adults ages 18 and older who have access to a computer or smartphone connected to the internet.
Design:
This is an online study. Participants will answer surveys through the study website.
Participants will complete a one-time survey. It will ask about their experiences throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, their socioeconomic standing, their mental and physical health, and their eating habits. They will have the option to repeat the survey once a month for the next 12 months. This will show changes in their thoughts and behaviors over time. They will provide their email address to get survey links.
Participants will also have the option to complete a 2-minute survey on their smartphone. They will complete the survey daily for 7 days in a row. It will ask about their stress and eating behavior in real time, in their home environment. They will provide their phone number to get survey links via text message.
If a participant has taken part in a previous NIH study on the Phoenix AZ campus, they will be asked to share their first and last name, date of birth, and email address. This information will be used to connect data from this study to their past data.
Participation is typically 25 minutes but may last up to 1 year.
\*\*\*To participate in this study go to the REDCap study link: https://redcap.link/nihcovidstudy.\*\*\*...
Detailed Description
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We will recruit previous NIDDK study participants as well as newly recruited individuals from the general population to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the impact of psychosocial stressors that impact eating behavior and weight. The study will describe the relationship between specific COVID-19 related stressors (e.g. fear of becoming sick) and self-rated measures of food insecurity, unpredictability, perceived stress, behavioral health dysfunction, eating behaviors and weight change among a range of participants including previous NIDDK-Phoenix study volunteers and various newly recruited volunteers from the general global population. Participants will be invited to enroll in a follow- up study which will involve completing additional surveys on a monthly basis for 12 months. A smaller U.S. only cohort of these participants may also enroll in a 2 minute daily at-home survey study for 1-weekthat will utilize Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to examine stress and eating behavior in real-time, in the home environment. Participants will complete an online consent form and online survey through a secure weblink (REDCap). Because the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly changing, survey data collection is an effective way to measure outcomes at multiple time points with relatively low subject burden.
Objectives:
Primary Objective: to examine the food environment and psychosocial stressors related to COVID-19 with self-reported measures of behavioral health symptoms, eating behaviors and weight.
Secondary Objective: to determine whether sociodemographic, existing behavioral health dysfunction, or environmental condition moderates this relationship and to identify risk and resilience factors among study participants regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating behavior and weight.
Endpoints:
Primary Endpoints: measures of eating behavior and body weight. These endpoints will be measured repeatedly using an online platform (REDCap) at baseline and then monthly for up to 12 months. We also plan to examine these COVID-19 related measures with previously collected phenotypic data (e.g. biological samples and behavioral data) from former NIDDK-Phoenix participants.
Secondary Endpoints: in addition to those outlined as primary endpoints, we will examine data gathered from demographic forms and additional questionnaires measuring environmental conditions and psychosocial stress.
Conditions
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Keywords
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Study Design
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ECOLOGIC_OR_COMMUNITY
PROSPECTIVE
Study Groups
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Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) volunteers
Volunteers with access to mobile device with Wi-Fi and data recruited for an additional 1-week daily assessment study utilizing EMA to examine COVID-19 related stress and eating behavior in real-time
No interventions assigned to this group
General global population volunteers
Newly recruited volunteers 18 and above from the general global population that agree to participate in the COVID study
No interventions assigned to this group
NIDDK-Phoenix study volunteers
Previous research participants, who signed consents that allow data sharing that agree to participate in the COVID study
No interventions assigned to this group
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
1. 18 years of age or older
2. Able to read and write English
3. Consistent access to computer or mobile devices connected to the internet
4. Able to provide informed consent online and/or in-person
In order to be eligible to participate in the EMA arm of the study, an individual must meet all the following criteria:
1\. Access to a mobile device with WI-FI and data
Exclusion Criteria
Non-English-speaking subjects as a population will be excluded from participation in this protocol. The primary aim of the protocol relates to the questionnaires administered to the participants online. There are currently no validated, translated forms of these questionnaires available; therefore, we will restrict enrollment to English speaking subjects only.
18 Years
99 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
NIH
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Marci E Gluck, Ph.D.
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Locations
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NIDDK, Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Countries
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References
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Willig M, Cabeza de Baca T, J Stinson E, M Trevino-Alvarez A, Rodzevik T, B Votruba S, C Lameman C, Krakoff J, Gluck ME. 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. BMC Public Health. 2025 Apr 11;25(1):1365. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22444-6.
Related Links
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https://redcap.link/nihcovidstudy
Other Identifiers
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10000172
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
000172-DK
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: secondary_id