Delray Beach Business Addresses "Quarantine 15" Weight Gain Epidemic

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - Jan. 25, 2021 - PRLog -- COVID-19 is creating another dire health issue among Americans. Poor eating habits formed during the pandemic and lack of exercise in quarantine are causing a rise in obesity, according to a recent study conducted at the University of Florida (UF). The nationwide study surveyed over 3,000 people between March and May of 2020 regarding their eating habits, food security and attitudes.

"It's no surprise that 44% of respondents to the UF survey reported eating more sweets and 37% ate more salty snacks, because many of us snack on unhealthy foods when we're just sitting around the house, which is exactly what many did during the pandemic," said Austin Brock, certified personal trainer and co-founder of Slash Fitness in Delray Beach. "What's more alarming is that 38% of those surveyed said they gained weight, many of whom have entered the overweight and obese categories."

Brock, who has a background in Exercise Science with an emphasis on Pre-Physical Therapy, isn't surprised, however. "As people get more and more comfortable working from home, they have unfortunately begun to develop more and more unhealthy habits, including a significant lack of movement, an increase in daily calories consumed, and finally stress," Brock said.

He offers the following advice to those looking to work off their "quarantine-15."

• Create a plan. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Your plan needs to include the basics. Start by scheduling time for daily activity (60 min throughout the day), set mealtimes, and proper amounts of sleep (8hrs).
• Clean out the fridge! Either get rid of unhealthy items in the fridge completely, or at least hide them from yourself.
• Drink more water. Sounds simple, but this is one habit that too many of us don't follow through on. Easy ways to succeed at this is to use a large container (like a gallon jug) so that you can visualize how much water you need to consume each day.
• Limit your TV time. Set rules for yourself and your family. Do this by establishing certain amounts of "TV time" and sticking to it.
• Resistance train. Burning calories with a walk, jog, bike ride, etc. is great, but once our heart rates return to resting levels, the calorie benefit of that activity is over. By adding in resistance training, we stimulate our muscular system which in turn has to burn more and more calories even after your workout is over to help repair itself.

About Slash Fitness
Slash Fitness is a state-of-the-art personalized indoor training facility located in East Delray Beach, Florida. Learn more at https://slashfitpro.com/.