Abstract
The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about drastic measures that have significantly altered the norms of daily living. These measures have affected human behaviors in disparate ways. This study seeks to understand the impact of the pandemic on physical activity and dietary behavior among adults living in Kuwait. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between 18 June and 15 July 2020, using a questionnaire disseminated through social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook. The target population was individuals aged 21 years or older living in the State of Kuwait. The study included 679 respondents; 57.9% were females, and 67.7% were Kuwaiti nationals. Both genders reported an increased consumption of vegetables, fruits, and carbohydrates, and a decreased consumption of fish and sugary drinks. Compared to males, females reported eating more during the outbreak than their pre-pandemic eating behaviors (32.3% vs. 35.9%, p < 0.05). Approximately one-third of respondents (33.1%) reported performing less than 30 min of physical activity or exercise in a week, and 36.4% of respondents rated their quality of sleep as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. The rate of smoking cigarettes among males was significantly higher than in females (40.6% vs. 5.3%, p < 0.001). Physical activity was positively correlated with vegetable consumption and quality of sleep. Quality of sleep was negatively correlated with the consumption of sweets and snacks, just as the consumption of vegetables was negatively correlated with the consumption of sugary drinks. The overall negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait necessitates the development of health promotion interventions to support positive physical activity and dietary behaviors using alternative coping strategies among the residents of Kuwait.
Highlights
After Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was confirmed at the end of December 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China, the virus rapidly spread to become a public health emergency of international concern by 30 January 2020, and was declared a global pandemic on 15 March 2020 [1]
Dietary Behavior and Food Consumption Dietary behavior was assessed using questions related to food consumption and were classified according to the food consumption types recommended for the Middle Eastern food consumption pattern survey [14] and categorized by 10, dividing into two more categories on the Saudi Food Frequency Questionnaire [15] considering the nutritional recommendations during COVID-19 quarantine [16]
Dietary behavior was measured through an assessment of the consumption of ten different food categories both pre- and during COVID-19 restrictions, with responses based on a 5-item Likert scale ranging from ‘I eat much more’ to ‘I eat much less’ compared to pre-pandemic times
Summary
After Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was confirmed at the end of December 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China, the virus rapidly spread to become a public health emergency of international concern by 30 January 2020, and was declared a global pandemic on 15 March 2020 [1]. There are strict gender roles where females are primarily responsible for household chores It is a very social society in which multiple generations live in the same household. Respondents self-reported demographic information, including age, gender, nationality, marital status, and education level. Current health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease were self-reported. Dietary behavior was measured through an assessment of the consumption of ten different food categories both pre- and during COVID-19 restrictions (i.e., carbohydrates, animal products, milk products, fishes, vegetable proteins, vegetable unsaturated fatty acids, fruits, vegetables, sugary drinks, and sweets and snacks), with responses based on a 5-item Likert scale ranging from ‘I eat much more’ to ‘I eat much less’ compared to pre-pandemic times. Two additional items were used to assess the overall perception of changes in dietary behavior and weight status during the COVID-19 outbreak
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