New research presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO2021, online, 10-13 May) concludes that the first lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic was an important driver in the motivation to lose weight in participants of an online weight management program started in late 2020. Some participants associated the lockdown with weight gain through blocking social opportunities and access to facilities, explain the authors who include Meigan Thomson of the University of Glasgow, UK, and colleagues.