ABSTRACT
Introduction: The lockdown imposed by many countries to curb the COVID-19 epidemic had an unprecedented impact on the general population's lives. Recent studies suggest that eating habits are one of the areas particularly affected by stay-at-home orders. Individuals that received bariatric surgery for weight loss may represent a particularly susceptible population to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 lockdown for its potential impact on eating, psychological and, weight loss outcomes. This study seeks to investigate the incremental impact of COVID-19 lockdown on bariatric surgery outcomes. Methods: The present investigation uses data from an ongoing longitudinal study of bariatric patients assessed before surgery (T0), 1.5 (T1), and 3 years after surgery (T2). Two independent groups were compared: the COVID-19-Group (n=35) - T0 and T1 assessment were conducted before the pandemic started, but T2 assessment was conducted at the end of the mandatory COVID-19 lockdown;and the NonCOVID-19-Group (n=66) - who completed the pre-surgery, 1.5-, and 3-year assessment before the epidemic began. Assessment included self-report measures for disordered eating, negative urgency, depression, anxiety, stress, and weight outcomes. General Linear Models for repeated measures were used. Results: General Linear Models for repeated measures showed that the COVID-19-Group presented significantly higher weight concern (F=8.403, p=.005, η2p=.094), grazing behavior (F=7.166, p=.009, η2p=.076), and negative urgency (F=4.522, p=.036, η2p=.05) than the NonCOVID-19-Group. The COVID-19-Group also showed less weight loss (F=4.029, p=.05, η2p=.04) and greater weight regain at T2, with more COVID-19-Group participants experiencing excessive weight regain (20% vs 4.5%).Conclusions: These results show evidence for the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on eating-related psychopathology and weight outcomes in post-bariatric surgery patients, making specialized and systematic care an urgent matter for this population.