Health behaviours of young adults during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic – a longitudinal study

Abstract

Background The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has created a number of obstacles to daily functioning, which have led to a need for major changes in lifestyles. The aim of the study was to assess whether and to what extent the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the health behaviours of young adults. Methods 506 people aged 18 to 34 ($$ \overline{x} $$ x ¯ =24.67 years ±4.23 years) who filled in an online survey were qualified for the study. Assessment was made of eating habits (a modified Food Frequency Questionnaire, FFQ), physical activity and sedentary behaviours (International Physical Activity Questionnaire, short form IPAQ-SF), sleep quality (The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), and generalized anxiety (Generalized anxiety Disorder, 7-item, GAD-7 scale). Results During the pandemic, young adults changed their dietary preferences toward sweets and cereal products, increased alcohol (p < 0.001) and fat (p = 0.005) intake, significantly reduced their physical activity (from 8752.5 metabolic equivalents (MET) min/week vs. 6174.6 MET min/week, p < 0.001), increased the time spent sedentarily (Me = 240 min vs. Me = 360 min, p < 0.001) and had decreased sleep quality (PSQI score Me = 7.00 vs. Me = 9.00). Conclusions The Covid-19 pandemic worsened health behaviours and intensified the feeling of generalized anxiety in young adults. Generalized anxiety during obligatory lockdown had the greatest negative impact on sedentary behaviours and sleep quality.

Eating Behaviour Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

“…The current systematic review, which included twenty-three studies, provides a comprehensive overview of eating behaviour characteristics associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Consistent with previous reviews, several outcomes, such as overeating [26,31,46,47] and the influence of personal preferences on food choices [32][33][34][35]44], have been observed. However, this systematic review also found that the frequency of meals is not associated with the amount of food eaten [32,36,40].…”

“…The twenty-three longitudinal studies included the following countries: India [ 26 ], Australia [ 27 , 28 ], Spain [ 29 , 30 ], Italy [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], Brazil [ 36 ], France [ 37 ], China [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], the United States [ 42 ], Canada [ 43 ], Poland [ 44 ], the United Kingdom [ 45 , 46 ] and Japan [ 47 , 48 ].…”

“…Twelve [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 36 , 37 , 42 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 48 ] (50%) were prospective studies, and eleven [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 44 , 47 ] (42.86%) were retrospective studies. Additionally, the length of follow-ups varied between 2 [ 32 , 35 , 47 ] and 54 weeks [ 28 , 42 ].…”

“…Although studies mainly focused on adult populations over 18 years old with no comorbidities [ 28 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 48 ], specific subgroups that might be taken into account were found: people diagnosed with diabetes mellitus [ 26 , 32 , 47 ], young people [ 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 34 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], people with obesity [ 33 ] and people in vulnerable situations [ 45 ]. The average of mean ages for twenty-three longitudinal studies was 24.19 years (SD = 15.3).…”

“…All the studies used different recording measures to assess target eating behaviour changes. In this sense, many of them were standardized validated scales, such as the NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition [ 27 ], The Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and teenagers (KIDMED) [ 29 ], the 12-items lifestyle questionnaire [ 31 ], the House hold Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) [ 38 ], the COVID-19 Impact on Lifestyle Change Survey (COINLICS) [ 39 ], the Diet Screener Questionnaire, the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies (DQUES and diet v3.2; Cancer Council Victoria) [ 28 ], the Food and Beverages Diet frequency questionnaire [ 40 ], the Modified Food frequency Questionnaire (FFQ-6) [ 44 ], and the Mediterranean diet (Med-Diet) questionnaire [ 30 ]; whereas the others used scales that were created for the specific purpose of their research [ 26 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 41 , 47 ]. Additionally, self-reports [ 37 , 43 , 45 , 46 ] were used in order to follow eating changes among participants.…”