The Impact of the COVID-19-Induced Lockdown on SRR College Undergraduate Student’s Nutrition, Health and Lifestyle Patterns

Abstract

COVID-19 is a worldwide emergency of public health that leads to lockouts, changes in the dietary pattern and life-style of the population. To assess the impact of COVID-19 mediated lockdown on nutrition, health and lifestyle patterns among teenagers aged ?18 years. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics (age, gender and place of residence), food system dimensions, dietary intake, physical activity, stress and anxiety, body image attitudes, lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption, screentime and ease of access to health services. Most of the participants (n=537) were women (53.9%) aged 16 to 24. The lockdown has led to an increase in food prices (81.4%) and a decrease in the rate of physical activity (67.4%). Additionally, there is an increased intake of fruits (68.7%), meat (60%), eggs (75%) and leafy vegetables (49.9%). Around 44.5% of the people reported stress for some days. The majority of the students have increased their weight by 53.8%, weight loss by 10.6% and no change in weight by 30.2%. Approximately half (52.3%) reported challenging access to pharmaceuticals and 66.7% had medical emergency services. An increase in food price, decreased dietary diversification, unhealthy eating patterns, lack of physical activity and perceived weight gain were demonstrated during the COVID-19 induced lockdown period. Further research is needed from various socioeconomic backgrounds to obtain more definitive results which may improve the quality of life of the people.