“Despite fearmongering about the “quarantine 15,” putting on some pounds from experimenting in the kitchen during a tough year is absolutely not something most people need to fret over, says Lindo Bacon, a nutritionist at UC Davis. Focusing on weight as an exercise goal can get dangerous—especially in America, where the weight-loss industry has spent generations promulgating an unhealthy attitude toward dieting and exercise, for women in particular. The pandemic has been a brutally different time, Bacon says, and food has been a reasonable coping mechanism when so many of the usual outlets we rely on aren’t an option. ”