The impact of sleep quality, meal timing, and frequency on diet quality among remote learning university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Our objective is to assess the relationship between meal timing, frequency, sleep quality, and diet quality (DQ) among university students engaged in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve this, a cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2021. We employed a self-administered electronic questionnaire to gather data. Participants self-reported their anthropometric and sociodemographic information. Physical activity (PA) levels were evaluated using the International PA Questionnaire (IPAQ), while sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). DQ was determined using a short-form Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), and the data were stratified into quartiles. A total of 311 students completed the questionnaire. Half of the participants (53.2%) exhibited a moderate DQ. Interestingly, female participants had a higher proportion of individuals with high DQ (22.5%) compared to males (9.8%). Conversely, males had a higher percentage of participants with moderate DQ (68.9%) compared to females (49.4%) (P=0.016). Participants with high DQ reported significantly more consistent meal timing, such as fixed meal times, waking up early, going to bed early, feeling hungry during breakfast and lunchtime, and having breakfast in the morning (P<0.001). Participants with low DQ reported moderate to low levels of PA and poor sleep quality (P<0.001). Our findings are consistent with relevant studies conducted in different regions of the world. In conclusion, remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with adverse changes in meal timing and frequency, as well as compromised sleep quality. Furthermore, it has been linked to a prevalence of moderate DQ among university students.