Abstract
Changes in health habits were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. An unequal distribution of responsibilities may have generated unequal levels of stress in men and women, and, therefore, this may have led to different impacts on their health habits during lockdown. This study aimed to analyze the changes in eating habits, physical activity, sleep, and body weight in women, compared to men, because of lockdown. A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out. 2834 Spanish volunteers aged 19 to 76 completed an online survey on health habits. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using a cross-sectional methodology to explore gender differences. Results showed that men maintained their health habits to a greater extent, performing the same physical activity, while maintaining the quantity and quality of sleep, the quality of the diet, the quantity of the intake, and their mealtimes and body weight, whereas women’s eating habits changed in relation to the quality of their diet and mealtimes, as their food intake and weight increased, and their sleep was poorer in quality and duration than it was before lockdown. This could be due to the higher levels of anxiety experienced by women as a result of working on essential jobs in addition to taking on more unpaid work associated with care and housework.
Highlights
Academic Editor: GregorioThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented health and economic crisis on a global scale
Data on gender differentials pertaining to the impact and consequences of changes in health habits during the COVID-19 lockdown are still limited, even though the disaggregation of data by gender is a repeated recommendation of international organizations and researchers who study the determinants of health [4,5]
To expand the knowledge on the differential impacts of lockdown on men and women, and, following the recommendations of the World Health Organization in relation to the research on COVID-19 pandemic, the aim of the present study is to analyze the changes in the health habits of women in comparison to men, as a consequence of the strict lockdown enacted in Spain in response to the pandemic
Summary
Academic Editor: GregorioThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented health and economic crisis on a global scale. Data on gender differentials pertaining to the impact and consequences of changes in health habits during the COVID-19 lockdown are still limited, even though the disaggregation of data by gender is a repeated recommendation of international organizations and researchers who study the determinants of health (both physical and psychological) [4,5]. This disaggregated approach seeks to understand, among other issues, the possible psychosocial factors that create specific gendered risks to health, with the aim of improving health promotion policies and health risk prevention strategies [6]
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