Dietary Habits and Lifestyle During Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown: Experience From Lebanon.

Leila Cheikh Ismail,Maysm N Mohamad,Abir Ajab,Rameez Al Daour,Tareq M Osaili,Lily Stojanovska,Ayesha S Al Dhaheri,Dima O Abu Jamous,Hayder Hasan,Mona Hashim,Amjad H Jarrar,Sheima T Saleh,Hussein Hassan

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.730425

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the impact of quarantine on eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among the Lebanese adult population. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms between 3 June and 28 June 2020. The survey questions were adapted from the Short Food Frequency Questionnaire, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form, and the second version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. A total of 2,507 adults completed the questionnaire. During the lockdown, 32.8% claimed weight gain, 44.7% did not eat fruits daily, 35.3% did not eat vegetables on daily basis, and 72.9% reported drinking less than eight cups of water per day. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the number of meals consumed per day, consumption of homemade meals, sedentary time, stress, and sleeping disturbances during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic (all p < 0.001). However, there was a significant decrease in physical activity engagement, sleep quality, and energy level during the lockdown compared to before the pandemic (all p < 0.001). The study highlights that the COVID-19 lockdown was associated with unfavorable changes in dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors in Lebanon. Sleep and mental health were also negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Highlights

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is a global public health concern caused by the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]
Participants joined from six governorates of Lebanon (Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North, South, Nabatiyeh, and Beqaa) and the sample distribution from different governorates was representative of the population distribution in Lebanon
This study presents the findings of a web-based survey collected in six governorates of Lebanon and in three languages

Summary

Introduction

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is a global public health concern caused by the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]. The first reported case of COVID19 was in Wuhan, China in December 2019, since the virus has spread sequentially and massively to almost every country in the world [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, announced the coronavirus as a pandemic and declared it a “health emergency” after causing more than 111,828 confirmed deaths [3]. The outbreak of the pandemic has led to unprecedented health, economic, and environmental crises [4]. It has overwhelmed the healthcare systems and negatively impacted education, mental health, physical activity, and social life [5,6,7].

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