Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42225369›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2026

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on obesity: a prospective cohort study of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

Mohammad Nazmus Sakib, Lauren E Griffith, Urun Erbas Oz, Nicole E Basta, Hertzel C Gerstein, Jason D Morgenstern, Susan Kirkland, Lehana Thabane, Brendan T Smith, Cynthia Balion and 3 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Mohammad Nazmus SakibDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Lauren E GriffithDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2794-9692
Urun Erbas OzDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Nicole E BastaDepartment of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4951-6353
Hertzel C GersteinDepartment of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8072-2836
Jason D MorgensternRenfrew County and District Health Unit, Pembroke, Massachusetts, Canada.
Susan KirklandDepartment of Communcity Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Lehana ThabaneDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0355-9734
Brendan T SmithPublic Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2785-1246
Cynthia BalionDepartment of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Jacqueline M McMillanCumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Parminder RainaDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Laura N AndersonDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada ln.anderson@mcmaster.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6106-5073

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on body mass index (BMI) and obesity status among Canadian residents and explore how this association varied by sociodemographic and health status.

designProspective cohort study.

settingCanada.

participants41 302 adults, aged 45-85 at baseline, participating in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: BMI and BMI-defined obesity were measured at baseline, follow-up 1 and follow-up 2 (FUP2), with 33% of FUP2 data (n=13 444) gathered after 16 March 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions began. Correction factors were applied for self-reported BMI and weighted generalised estimating equations assessed BMI changes before and during the pandemic.

resultsWe found a significant interaction between follow-up time and timing of FUP2 data collection (before or during the pandemic). Participants measured during the pandemic had an excess BMI increase of 0.21 kg/m² (95% CI 0.15 to 0.28) and 1.06 times higher odds of obesity (95% CI 1.03 to 1.09) compared with prepandemic trends. Increases were more pronounced among females, middle-aged adults and those without diabetes.

conclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a modest increase in BMI and obesity among Canadian adults. Ongoing research is needed to assess long-term trends.

Indexed as

COVID-19ObesityPandemicsAgedAged, 80 and overAgingBody Mass IndexCanadaCanadian Longitudinal Study on AgingFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesSARS-CoV-2AgingCOVID-19ObesityPUBLIC HEALTH

Identifiers

PMID42225369
PMCPMC13239610

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.