Effects of COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine period on physical activity and dietary habits of college-aged students

Sidebottom, Corby; Ullevig, Sarah L.; Cheever, Kelly; Zhang, Tianou

doi:10.1016/j.smhs.2021.08.005

Cited by 32 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The overall consumption of junk food signi cantly increased, over a third gained weight, and about two-thirds reported less healthy eating habits overall, unhealthier snack consumption, and more emotional eating. These results echo ndings from other studies both in the United States and in other wealthy nations that have found associations between the pandemic and dietary deterioration [4,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]27].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

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Dietary trends and socioeconomic disparities among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Parker

Kaur

Medalla

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: Healthy eating is vital to health and well-being and during the COVID-19 pandemic it is especially important for boosting immunity and protecting against viral infections. Yet, by many accounts, a nutritious diet has been a casualty of the pandemic, rather than a means to fight it, especially among the most socioeconomically vulnerable. Methods: We employed a cross-sectional design to examine income-based dietary disparities targeting young adults (ages 18-28) during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Young adults have experienced some of the biggest pandemic-related disruptions during a formative stage of development while no known scholarly attention has addressed dietary changes in this demographic. Participants (N=254) responded to a 15-20-minute online survey and questions related to food composition and sources of food, perceptions of healthy eating, weight change, physical activity, and food insecurity. Comparisons were made between those who lived in households that earned above versus below the U.S. median income. Results: Lower income young adults were disproportionately represented in unhealthy consumption changes during the lockdown period such as increased intake of junk food (+3%) and a decrease in grains (-2%). Upper income participants were overly represented in healthy changes in diet such as a decrease in eating at fast food restaurants (-4%) and an increased reliance on home cooked food from scratch (+6%). Lower income participants also perceived their eating habits during the lockdown as less healthy (M=21.0, SD=4.99) than their upper income counterparts (M=23.53, SD=5.66). Weight gain during lockdown was reported by half (50%) of lower income and less than a third (29%) of upper income participants. Financial circumstances negatively impacted the diets of significantly more lower income (39%) than upper income (18%) respondents. Food insecurity during lockdown was a regular occurrence for 6-8% of lower income versus 2-5% of upper income young adults in this study. Conclusions: It is recommended that pandemic minded public health interventions account for negative dietary trends with particular attention to low-income young adults.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…The only known study that has focused on a similar age group found a host of negative dietary trends during the pandemic including overeating, inactivity, and weight gain. But this study focused speci cally on college students and neglected to differentiate groups by socioeconomic status [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary trends and socioeconomic disparities among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Parker

Kaur

Medalla

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The restrictions aimed to inhibit social contacts and thereby instructed sport and exercise did not take place, sports clubs and gyms were closed and access to areas for moving and recreation was limited. Current study results reflect these restrictions and found an overall decrease in PA and an increase in sedentary time (Mutz & Gerke, 2021 ; Naughton et al., 2021 ; Sidebottom, Ullevig, Cheever, & Zhang, 2021 ; Tison et al., 2020 ). However, results are inconsistent which might be partly due to differential effects of the restrictions on different PA domains: while sports club PA decreased, other leisure time PA such as jogging or hiking were not affected (Aegerter et al., 2021 ; Di Renzo et al., 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Perceiving reduced physical activity during COVID-19 lockdown is related to lower quality of life: a cross-sectional study with young adults

Niermann

Bollenbach

Kanning

2022

Ger J Exerc Sport Res

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Physical activity and social participation are positively related to mental health and represent resources that strengthen individuals’ resilience. However, the measures aiming to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic included restrictions regarding these health resources. For many people, stay-at-home orders had a negative effect on mental health and health-related behaviors such as physical activity. Young adults seem to be a particularly vulnerable group. The study aimed to examine the relationship between changes in physical activity and perceived quality of life in young adults during lockdown conditions. We conducted an online survey during the second lockdown in Germany and assessed perceived changes in physical activity, social activities, quality of life (QoL), the perceived burden of changes in social activities, and current QoL in 212 young adults (63.7% women, mean age = 23.46, standard deviation = 3.63). Young adults that maintained or increased their physical activity level under lockdown conditions, rated their current QoL higher and perceived a less negative change of their QoL during lockdown compared to those with decreased physical activity. Furthermore, those who rated that their physical activity levels did not change or increased, perceived the reduction of their social activities as less burdening. The results indicate that physical activity is a beneficial health resource during lockdown conditions. This highlights the importance of gaining knowledge regarding the antecedents of reducing physical activity and developing strategies that support young adults to be physically active in challenging times such as the pandemic (e.g. ehealth/mhealth approaches).

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“…These orders, unintentionally, made it difficult for some people to maintain healthy lifestyles. Lockdown restrictions coincided with an observed reduction in physical activity, poor eating habits, and increased rates of depression and anxiety [1] , [2] , [3] . Suboptimal lifestyle changes contributed to weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic [4] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Factors associated with weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic

Goitia

Chen

Patel

et al. 2022

Obesity Research & Clinical Practice

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Effects of COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine period on physical activity and dietary habits of college-aged students

Cited by 32 publications

References 39 publications

Dietary trends and socioeconomic disparities among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Dietary trends and socioeconomic disparities among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Perceiving reduced physical activity during COVID-19 lockdown is related to lower quality of life: a cross-sectional study with young adults

Factors associated with weight gain during the COVID-19 pandemic

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