Binge watching during COVID: Associations with stress and body weight

ABSTRACT

Background: Binge watching (BW) is a widespread phenomenon with potential to impact energy balance and thereby body weight. Previous studies show stress is associated with TV viewing and increased weight, but the influence of stress on BW and weight is understudied. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures created conditions conducive to BW and increased stress. Here we investigated relationships between BW, stress, and weight by examining reports of BW during (concurrent report) and before (retrospective report) the pandemic. Methods: 439 adults (age 37.0±9.1y;BMI 28.0±7.3 kg/m2) completed an online survey assessing BW behaviors, COVID-related stress, and BMI. Of the total sample, 167 (38.0%) were normal weight, 154 (35.1%) overweight, and 121 (27.6%) obese. We ran repeated measures ANOVAs with time (pre-COVID vs now), and stress tertiles and weight groups as between-subjects factors. Results: The duration of a typical BW increased from 3.3±1.9h (range 0-10.3h) before the COVID crisis to 3.9±2.1h (range 0-10.5h) during the crisis (p<.001). BW frequency also increased (p<.001) with the number of participants reporting BW 3-7x a week increasing from n=57 (9.8%) to n=136 (29.2%). BW frequency was greater with higher stress (p=.023), driven by higher values in the high stress group compared to the low stress groups (p=.027). A time x stress x weight group interaction was identified such that reported increases in BW were greatest in individuals with obesity and high stress levels (p=0.045). Higher stress was associated with eating while BW (p=.001), where the number of participants reporting often/always eating while BW was greatest in the high stress group (high stress 45.7%, n=53;medium stress 24.8%, n=32;low stress 20.9%, n=18). Conclusions: Binge watching increased during the pandemic, with larger increases for individuals with obesity and high stress, and concomitant effects on eating, highlighting a potential target for interventions to minimize obesogenic impact of the ongoing crisis.