Dr. Ted here! Remember when we used to talk about the “Freshman 15” when referring to that bit of weight gain we had during our first year as a collegian? Well there’s a new term everyone is throwing around and, according to more than a few studies done over the last few months, it’s a whole lot more common to everyone. “Quarantine 19” has now become a common way to refer to weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Psychological Association’s “Stress in America” pandemic survey, for instance, polled 3,013 adults in the U.S. and found that the majority, 61% said they experienced undesired weight changes. In fact, 42% said they gained an average of 29 pounds. Ten percent said they gained more than 50 pounds!

In another poll of more than 1000 WebMD readers, nearly half of the women and almost one-quarter of the men said they’d gained weight “due to COVID restrictions.”
And yet another poll of 19,903 people from 140 counties conducted by Nick Rizzo and his team at runrepeat.com found that globally 35.82% of people reported they gained weight during the pandemic, and of those 71.25% gained more than 5 lbs. They also found that the United States had the highest percentage of people gain weight at a whopping 40.52%.

While self-reported surveys have often proven to be less accurate than studies where researchers measure participants, other research is tracking evidence of this weight gain. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found participants in a heart-health study, whose weight was monitored from February 1 to June 1, 2020, gained approximately 1.5 lbs. per month after States instituted shelter-in-place orders last spring.

Dr. Angela Fitch, vice president of the Obesity Medicine Association said that if further data backs up the self-reporting, and Americans really have gained that many pounds, “it’s going to be a significant issue for us in the United States.”

Well, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that is already IS a significant issue. That’s why we are going to do something. Beginning April 15th, we are going to embark on our biggest Alka·Slim® Challenge to date! I am a statistic in this discussion. I’ve put on weight in the last year. So, it’s up to me to take back my control and help you take back yours. I hope you will join me in not only gaining control of your weight, but more importantly, gaining control of your health, your immune system, your life!

I hope you will join me on April 15th! Please watch your email and Facebook for details.