Study suggests adults under stay-at-home orders gained nearly two pounds a month

American adults gained half a pound on average for every 10 days spent under stay-at-home orders, a new study finds.

In a study posted online by the JAMA Network health journal, researchers from University of California San Francisco (UCSF) found that participants under stay-at-home orders gained on average 0.59 pounds every 10 days spent under lockdown — a finding that could indicate as many as 20 pounds gained over the course of 2020 and early 2021 for some newly-remote workers.

The primary causes of the weight gain were “likely reflective of changes in physical activity and patterns of daily living, as well as concurrent self-reported increases in snacking and overeating,” according to the study’s summary.

The study analyzed more than 7,600 weight measurements from 269 participants in 37 states and Washington, D.C., between February and June of 2020.

The trend was apparently noticed by some Americans last year, as sales of fitness equipment surged as lockdown measures continued through March and April, while remote fitness instructors predictably also saw class bookings surge.