Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on obesity and diabetes among Canadians; a prospective population-based cohort study

Obesity and diabetes, are leading causes of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare use in Canada and globally. Public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, including physical distancing and isolation, may have unintentionally increased the risk of obesity and diabetes among Canadians. Our proposed study seeks to: i) describe the changes in the prevalence or severity of obesity and diabetes from pre-, mid-, to post-pandemic; ii) determine the impact of public health preventive measures on pandemic-related risk factors, such as physical activity, mental health, and unmet health care needs, on obesity and diabetes; and iii) apply a health equity approach to identify Canadians at greatest risk of obesity and cardiometabolic conditions following the pandemic. We will conduct a prospective cohort study using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). The CLSA is a large research platform on aging that has recruited and followed over 50,000 adults aged 45-85 starting in 2010 from across Canada. We propose to use extensive existing pre-pandemic CLSA data (surveys, physical measures, and biomarkers) combined with COVID-19 surveys and biospecimens that are currently being collected (mid-pandemic), and post-pandemic data from follow-up 3 (to be collected 2021-2023). Our results will be critical to understanding the long-term impact of the pandemic on the health of Canadians. Our results will identify subgroups of the population at the greatest risk of adverse chronic disease outcomes after the pandemic and inform public health prevention and control measures to reduce the long-term impacts of this historic global crisis.