Binge eating, alcohol and less physical activity hit England’s mental health during lockdown, according to an Oxford study.

An electronic questionnaire was carried out by Oxford University.

In total, 837 people aged 18 to 81 across England were surveyed between June 19 and July 6 about mental health, eating, and physical activity before lockdown, during early lockdown, and at the time of the survey.

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Almost half of people (46 per cent) said they had been less active than before lockdown.

There were also increases in respondents not sleeping well, experiencing persistent sadness, binge eating and having thoughts of suicide.

People often cited the combination of poor eating and reduced physical activity as contributing to their negative mental health.