Nutrition Research and Practice

The Korean Nutrition Society (한국영양학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Changes in eating habits and lifestyle during COVID-19 curfew in children in Saudi Arabia

  • Hanbazaza, Mahitab (Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Human Sciences and Design, King Abdulaziz University) ;
  • Wazzan, Huda (Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Human Sciences and Design, King Abdulaziz University)
  • Received : 2020.10.21
  • Accepted : 2021.06.22
  • Published : 2021.12.01
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Curfew due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could influence health behaviors in people, especially in children, who can easily acquire unhealthy eating habits. This study aimed to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on weight, health behaviors including eating habits, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in children aged 6-15 years in Saudi Arabia. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey that included 280 children aged 6-15 years in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 curfew. The survey included questions on sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measures, and health behaviors including eating habits, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. RESULTS: We observed a significant difference in the body mass index before and after the COVID-19 pandemic (P < 0.001). Children significantly tended to skip breakfast, along with a decreased intake of dairy products and fast food (P < 0.001). Moreover, children were less physically active and significantly tended to be involved in leisure screen-based activities, including watching TV and use of computer/games (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for the negative influences of the COVID-19 curfew on health behaviors, including eating habits, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in children in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords

References

  1. World Health Organization. WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020 [cited 2020 August 20]. Available from: https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/3/who-announces-covid-19-outbreak-a-pandemic.
  2. Orgiles M, Morales A, Delvecchio E, Mazzeschi C, Espada JP. Immediate psychological effects of the COVID-19 quarantine in youth from Italy and Spain. Front Psychol 2020;11:579038. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.579038
  3. Rundle AG, Park Y, Herbstman JB, Kinsey EW, Wang YC. COVID-19-related school closings and risk of weight gain among children. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2020;28:1008-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22813
  4. Buheji M, Hassani A, Ebrahim A, Cunha KC, Jahrami H, Baloshi M, Hubail S. Children and coping during COVID-19: a scoping review of bio-psycho-social factors. Int J Appl Psychol 2020;10:8-15. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ijap.20201001.02
  5. Muscogiuri G, Pugliese G, Barrea L, Savastano S, Colao A. Commentary: obesity: the "Achilles heel" for COVID-19? Metabolism 2020;108:154251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2020.154251
  6. Di Renzo L, Gualtieri P, Pivari F, Soldati L, Attina A, Cinelli G, Leggeri C, Caparello G, Barrea L, Scerbo F, et al. Eating habits and lifestyle changes during COVID-19 lockdown: an Italian survey. J Transl Med 2020;18:229. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-020-02399-5
  7. Abbas AM, Fathy SK, Fawzy AT, Salem AS, Shawky MS. The mutual effects of COVID-19 and obesity. Obes Med 2020;19:100250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obmed.2020.100250
  8. Smethers AD, Rolls BJ. Dietary management of obesity: cornerstones of healthy eating patterns. Med Clin North Am 2018;102:107-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2017.08.009
  9. Kimm SYS, Obarzanek E. Childhood obesity: a new pandemic of the new millennium. Pediatrics 2002;110:1003-7. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.110.5.1003
  10. El Mouzan MI, Foster PJ, Al Herbish AS, Al Salloum AA, Al Omer AA, Qurachi MM, Kecojevic T. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi children and adolescents. Ann Saudi Med 2010;30:203-8. https://doi.org/10.4103/0256-4947.62833
  11. McGuire S. Institute of Medicine. 2012. Accelerating progress in obesity prevention: solving the weight of the nation. Washington, DC: the National Academies Press. Adv Nutr 2012;3:708-9. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.112.002733
  12. Center for Chronic Disease Prevention. The health effects of overweight and obesity [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): Center for Chronic Disease Prevention; 2020 [cited 2020 August 20]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html.
  13. Clemmensen C, Petersen MB, Sorensen TI. Will the COVID-19 pandemic worsen the obesity epidemic? Nat Rev Endocrinol 2020;16:469-70. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-020-0387-z
  14. Currie C, Roberts C, Morgan A, Smith R, Settertobulte W, Samdal O, Rasmussen VB. Young people's health in context: health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC) study: international report from the 2001/2002 survey. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2002.
  15. Zheng KI, Gao F, Wang XB, Sun QF, Pan KH, Wang TY, Ma HL, Chen YP, Liu WY, George J, et al. Letter to the Editor: obesity as a risk factor for greater severity of COVID-19 in patients with metabolic associated fatty liver disease. Metabolism 2020;108:154244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2020.154244
  16. Cai Q, Chen F, Wang T, Luo F, Liu X, Wu Q, He Q, Wang Z, Liu Y, Liu L, et al. Obesity and COVID-19 severity in a designated hospital in Shenzhen, China. Diabetes Care 2020;43:1392-8. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc20-0576
  17. Lighter J, Phillips M, Hochman S, Sterling S, Johnson D, Francois F, Stachel A. Obesity in patients younger than 60 years is a risk factor for COVID-19 hospital admission. Clin Infect Dis 2020;71:896-7. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa415
  18. Petrilli CM, Jones SA, Yang J, Rajagopalan H, O'Donnell L, Chernyak Y, Tobin KA, Cerfolio RJ, Francois F, Horwitz LI. Factors associated with hospitalization and critical illness among 4,103 patients with COVID-19 disease in New York City. medRxiv. Forthcoming 2020.
  19. Sattar N, McInnes IB, McMurray JJV. Obesity is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection: multiple potential mechanisms. Circulation 2020;142:4-6. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.047659
  20. Simonnet A, Chetboun M, Poissy J, Raverdy V, Noulette J, Duhamel A, Labreuche J, Mathieu D, Pattou F, Jourdain M, et al. High prevalence of obesity in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2020;28:1195-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22831
  21. Sahoo K, Sahoo B, Choudhury AK, Sofi NY, Kumar R, Bhadoria AS. Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. J Family Med Prim Care 2015;4:187-92. https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.154628
  22. Boutelle KN, Peterson CB, Crosby RD, Rydell SA, Zucker N, Harnack L. Overeating phenotypes in overweight and obese children. Appetite 2014;76:95-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.01.076
  23. Al-Hazzaa HM, Abahussain NA, Al-Sobayel HI, Qahwaji DM, Musaiger AO. Physical activity, sedentary behaviors and dietary habits among Saudi adolescents relative to age, gender and region. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2011;8:140. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-8-140
  24. Deschasaux-Tanguy M, Druesne-Pecollo N, Esseddik Y, de Edelenyi FS, Alles B, Andreeva VA, Baudry J, Charreire H, Deschamps V, Egnell M, et al. Diet and physical activity during the COVID-19 lockdown period (March-May 2020): results from the French NutriNet-Sante cohort study. medRxiv. Forthcoming 2020.
  25. Bhutani S, Cooper JA. COVID-19-related home confinement in adults: weight gain risks and opportunities. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2020;28:1576-7. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22904
  26. Husain W, Ashkanani F. Does COVID-19 change dietary habits and lifestyle behaviours in Kuwait: a community-based cross-sectional study. Environ Health Prev Med 2020;25:61. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-020-00901-5
  27. Calder PC. Nutrition, immunity and COVID-19. BMJ Nutr Prev Health 2020;3:74-92. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2020-000085
  28. Kant AK, Graubard BI. Association of self-reported sleep duration with eating behaviors of American adults: NHANES 2005-2010. Am J Clin Nutr 2014;100:938-47. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.085191
  29. Westerlund L, Ray C, Roos E. Associations between sleeping habits and food consumption patterns among 10-11-year-old children in Finland. Br J Nutr 2009;102:1531-7. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114509990730
  30. Alkazemi DUZ, Saleh A. Adequacy of dairy product intake among children in Kuwait using a short dietary assessment questionnaire. Nutr Food Sci 2019;49:112-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-04-2018-0120
  31. Wuenstel JW, Kowalkowska J, Wadolowska L, Slowinska MA, Niedzwiedzka E, Kurp L. Habitual eating of breakfast, consumption frequency of selected food and overweight prevalence in adolescents from various age groups. Dev Period Med 2015;19:193-201.
  32. Alhilabi HS, Payne A. The impact of skipping breakfast on the body weight of children and young people in Saudi Arabia; a systematic review. Arab J Nutr Exerc 2018;3:67-104. https://doi.org/10.18502/ajne.v3i3.3588
  33. Poorolajal J, Sahraei F, Mohamdadi Y, Doosti-Irani A, Moradi L. Behavioral factors influencing childhood obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Res Clin Pract 2020;14:109-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2020.03.002
  34. Watanabe Y, Saito I, Henmi I, Yoshimura K, Maruyama K, Yamauchi K, Matsuo T, Kato T, Tanigawa T, Kishida T, et al. Skipping breakfast is correlated with obesity. J Rural Med 2014;9:51-8. https://doi.org/10.2185/jrm.2887
  35. Carroll N, Sadowski A, Laila A, Hruska V, Nixon M, Ma DWL, Haines J; On Behalf Of The Guelph Family Health Study. The impact of COVID-19 on health behavior, stress, financial and food security among middle to high income Canadian families with young children. Nutrients 2020;12:2352. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082352
  36. Ruiz-Roso MB, de Carvalho Padilha P, Mantilla-Escalante DC, Ulloa N, Brun P, Acevedo-Correa D, Arantes Ferreira Peres W, Martorell M, Aires MT, de Oliveira Cardoso L, et al. COVID-19 confinement and changes of adolescent's dietary trends in Italy, Spain, Chile, Colombia and Brazil. Nutrients 2020;12:1807. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12061807
  37. Carroll N, Sadowski A, Laila A, Hruska V, Nixon M, Ma DW, Haines J; On Behalf Of The Guelph Family Health Study. The impact of COVID-19 on health behavior, stress, financial and food security among middle to high income Canadian families with young children. Nutrients 2020;12:2352. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082352
  38. Moore SA, Faulkner G, Rhodes RE, Brussoni M, Chulak-Bozzer T, Ferguson LJ, Mitra R, O'Reilly N, Spence JC, Vanderloo LM, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak on movement and play behaviours of Canadian children and youth: a national survey. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2020;17:85. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-00987-8
  39. Dunton GF, Do B, Wang SD. Early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children living in the U.S. BMC Public Health 2020;20:1351. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09429-3
  40. Stiglic N, Viner RM. Effects of screentime on the health and well-being of children and adolescents: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Open 2019;9:e023191. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023191
  41. Margaritis I, Houdart S, El Ouadrhiri Y, Bigard X, Vuillemin A, Duche P. How to deal with COVID-19 epidemic-related lockdown physical inactivity and sedentary increase in youth? Adaptation of Anses' benchmarks. Arch Public Health 2020;78:52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-020-00432-z
  42. Koca T, Akcam M, Serdaroglu F, Dereci S. Breakfast habits, dairy product consumption, physical activity, and their associations with body mass index in children aged 6-18. Eur J Pediatr 2017;176:1251-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-017-2976-y
  43. Izeta EG, Plazas M, Zardain VG, Lizaur AB. Eating habits and physical activity in school children: a comparison before and after summer vacations. J Obes Weight Loss Ther 2014;4:223.
  44. Pietrobelli A, Pecoraro L, Ferruzzi A, Heo M, Faith M, Zoller T, Antoniazzi F, Piacentini G, Fearnbach SN, Heymsfield SB. Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on lifestyle behaviors in children with obesity living in Verona, Italy: a longitudinal study. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2020;28:1382-5. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22861
  45. Government of Canada. Healthy eating during the COVID-19 pandemic: your eating habits [Internet]. Ottawa: Government of Canada; 2021 [cited 2020 August 20]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/covid-19.html.
  46. Chu YL, Farmer A, Fung C, Kuhle S, Storey KE, Veugelers PJ. Involvement in home meal preparation is associated with food preference and self-efficacy among Canadian children. Public Health Nutr 2013;16:108-12. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980012001218
  47. Muscogiuri G, Barrea L, Savastano S, Colao A. Nutritional recommendations for COVID-19 quarantine. Eur J Clin Nutr 2020;74:850-1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-020-0635-2
  48. Abbas AM, Kamel MM. Dietary habits in adults during quarantine in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Obes Med 2020;19:100254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obmed.2020.100254