Weight Gain During the Pandemic

There has been enough research on weight gain over the last 2 years to now have systematic reviews. They have been analyzed from all around the world with similar results. What I was looking at was the 'why'. There were the obvious reasons like boredom, more takeout, and availability to processed foods while home all day. Across many of these studies people are also gaining weight from lack of sleep, increased cravings and decreased control over cravings, stress, anxiety, and alcohol consumption. If we look at those reasons they are all related to our emotions and how we cope, or don't cope, with them. From the Chinese Medicine perspective we look at these coping strategies as a form of self medication. You are gaining something from this to make it worth it. Are you filling up a void, trying to move a stuck emotion, trying to repress an emotion, energize or sedate? As acupuncture looks at each person as an individual, it's lens can lead practitioners to what these cravings and habits mean for your body and where it is coming from. The weight gain is a branch of a tree with roots deeper embedded in your Body, Mind and Spirit. This is where I can help you. Not wave a needle and have the pounds drop, but understand your system and support your body and mind to understand yourself as well as get you through the process of gaining your self back.

* Bhutani, S., vanDellen, M. R., & Cooper, J. A. (2021). Longitudinal Weight Gain and Related Risk Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Adults in the US. Nutrients, 13(2), 671. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020671

* Khan, M. A., Menon, P., Govender, R., Abu Samra, A. M., Allaham, K. K., Nauman, J., Östlundh, L., Mustafa, H., Smith, J., & AlKaabi, J. M. (2021). Systematic review of the effects of pandemic confinements on body weight and their determinants. The British journal of nutrition, 1–20. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114521000921