Anna Carolina Cortez Ribeiro¹, Vera Ferro-Lebres^2,3, Marta Arroyo-Izaga⁴, Liv Elin Torheim⁵ and Juliana Almeida-de-Souza^2,3

¹Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal
²Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal
³Laboratório Associado Para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal
⁴Department of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, BIOMICs Research Group, MICROFLUIDICs and BIOMICs Cluster, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Bioaraba, Spain
⁵Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, OsloMet-Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway

*Corresponding Author: Juliana Almeida-de-Souza, Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal.

Received: October 30, 2023; Published: November 28, 2023

Abstract

Background: Previous studies showed that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown caused changes in lifestyle habits. However, there is limited information regarding the effects after the lockdown. Aims: This study aimed to assess self-reported lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 pandemic among students at the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB), Portugal. This research is part of the Food Insecurity among European University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic (FINESCOP) study.

Methods: This study was conducted between April 4 and May 16, 2022. Students answered an online questionnaire on sociodemographic variables and lifestyle changes, including eating habits.

Results: The sample consisted of 377 students, 55.7% female, with a median of 22 years. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, meat and/or eggs, processed meat and vegetables decreased. Participants also reported increased screen time for work/study, alcohol consumption and smoking, as well as poorer sleep and physical and psychological health problems.

Conclusion: Our findings revealed changes in lifestyle behaviors in students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, professionals who work in community health, as well as the government, should adopt measures to improve healthy lifestyles in this population, paying special attention to the most vulnerable groups.

Keywords: COVID-19; Lifestyle; Feeding Behavior; Health; Students

References

1. COVID 19 Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). World Health Organization; Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (2020).
2. Ferreira-da-Silva R., et al. “A pandemia de COVID-19 em Portugal: Evolução, Vacinação e Farmacovigilância”. Revista Multidisciplinar 4 (2022): 135-154.
3. Direção-Geral da Saúde. Relatório de Situação COVID-19 (2022).
4. Caroppo E., et al. “Will Nothing Be the Same Again? Changes in Lifestyle during COVID-19 Pandemic and Consequences on Mental Health”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (2021): 8433.
5. Giner-Murillo M., et al. “Lifestyle in Undergraduate Students and Demographically Matched Controls during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (2021): 8133.
6. Alfawaz H., et al. “Dietary Intake and Mental Health among Saudi Adults during COVID-19 Lockdown”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (2021): 1653.
7. López-Moreno M., et al. “Physical and Psychological Effects Related to Food Habits and Lifestyle Changes Derived from COVID-19 Home Confinement in the Spanish Population”. Nutrients 12 (2020): 3445.
8. Di Renzo L., et al. “Eating habits and lifestyle changes during COVID-19 lockdown: an Italian survey”. Journal of Translational Medicine 18 (2020): 229.
9. Direção-Geral da Saúde. “React-COVID: Inquérito sobre alimentação e atividade física em contexto de contenção social” (2020).
10. Werf ET., et al. “Lifestyle changes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey in the Netherlands”. BMC Public Health 21 (2021): 1226.
11. Corpuz JCG. “Correspondence: Adapting to the culture of “new normal”: An emerging response to COVID-19”. Journal of Public Health (United Kingdom) 43 (2021): 344-345.
12. Assaf I., et al. “Students university healthy lifestyle practice: quantitative analysis”. Health Information Science and Systems 7 (2019): 7.
13. Bertrand L., et al. “The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on university students’ dietary intake, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour”. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 46 (2021): 265-272.
14. Chaturvedi K., et al. “COVID-19 and its impact on education, social life and mental health of students: A survey”. Children and Youth Services Review 121 (2021): 105866.
15. Fila-Witecka K., et al. “Lifestyle Changes among Polish University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (2021): 9571.
16. Owens MR., et al. “Prevalence and Social Determinants of Food Insecurity among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Nutrients 12 (2020): 2515.
17. Górnicka M., et al. “Dietary and Lifestyle Changes During COVID-19 and the Subsequent Lockdowns among Polish Adults: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey PLifeCOVID-19 Study”. Nutrients 12 (2020): 2324.
18. WHO Expert Committee on Physical Status: The use and interpretation of anthropometry. 1. World Health Organization (2010).
19. Devlin NJ and Brooks R. “EQ-5D and the EuroQol Group: Past, Present and Future”. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy 15 (2017): 127-137.
20. The National COVID-19 Food Study. Institute of Food and Health, University College Dublin (2020).
21. Snyder E., et al. “A new single-item sleep quality scale: Results of psychometric evaluation in patients with chronic primary insomnia and depression”. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 14 (2018): 1849-1857.
22. Jia P., et al. “Changes in dietary patterns among youths in China during COVID-19 epidemic: The COVID-19 impact on lifestyle change survey (COINLICS)”. Appetite 158 (2021): 105015.
23. Palmer K., et al. “Changes in lifestyle, diet, and body weight during the first COVID 19 ‘lockdown’ in a student sample”. Appetite 167 (2021): 105638.
24. Malik VS and Hu FB. “The role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the global epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases”. Nature Reviews Endocrinology 18 (2022): 205-218.
25. Zhong VW., et al. “Associations of Processed Meat, Unprocessed Red Meat, Poultry, or Fish Intake with Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality”. JAMA Internal Medicine 180 (2020): 503-512.
26. Lombardo M., et al. “Changes in eating habits and physical activity after covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in Italy”. Nutrients 13 (2021): 1-11.
27. Egli V., et al. “Household Mealtimes During the 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Influence of Household Type and Psychological Distress”. Frontiers in Nutrition (2022): 9.
28. Ramírez-Contreras C., et al. “Life before and after COVID-19: The ‘New Normal’ Benefits the Regularity of Daily Sleep and Eating Routines among College Students”. Nutrients 14 (2022): 351.
29. Bárbara R and Ferreira-Pêgo C. “Changes in eating habits among displaced and non-displaced university students”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (2020): 1-9.
30. Karadayian A., et al. “Alcohol Consumption, Hangovers, and Smoking among Buenos Aires University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Journal of Clinical Medicine 12 (2023): 1491.
31. Resultados do Inquérito da SPP revelam que Portugueses fumaram mais durante o segundo confinamento”. Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia (2021).
32. Gotts JE., et al. “What are the respiratory effects of e-cigarettes?” BMJ (2019): l5275.
33. Brancaccio M., et al. “Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Job Activity, Dietary Behaviours and Physical Activity Habits of University Population of Naples, Federico II-Italy”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (2021): 1502.
34. Global status report on alcohol and health 2018. vol. 65. Geneva: Wordl Health Organization (2018).
35. Landaeta-Díaz L., et al. “Anxiety, anhedonia and food consumption during the COVID-19 quarantine in Chile”. Appetite 164 (2021): 105259.
36. Trigo AC and Santiago LM. “Alcohol drinking in higher education students from coimbra and the impact of academic festivities”. Acta Médica Portuguesa 34 (2021): 249-256.
37. Moitra P and Madan J. “Impact of screen time during COVID-19 on eating habits, physical activity, sleep, and depression symptoms: A cross-sectional study in Indian adolescents”. PLoS One (2022): 17.
38. Trott M., et al. “Changes and correlates of screen time in adults and children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis”. EClinicalMedicine 48 (2022): 101452.
39. Sultana A., et al. “Digital screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic: a public health concern”. F1000 Research 10 (2021): 81-81.
40. Rocka A., et al. “The Impact of Digital Screen Time on Dietary Habits and Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents”. Nutrients 14 (2022): 2985.
41. Celorio-Sardà R., et al. “Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Dietary Habits and Lifestyle of Food Science Students and Professionals from Spain”. Nutrients 13 (2021): 1494.
42. Tan S., et al. “Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Weight Status of University Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross-National Comparative Study”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (2021): 7125.
43. Inquérito Nacional de Saúde 2019 (2019): 2020.
44. World Health Organization. Who European Regional Obesity Report (2022).
45. Kivuyo NG and Sharma S. “Dietary acculturation among African emigrant students in India: determinants and problems”. Public Health Nutrition 23 (2020): 2402-2409.
46. Shi Y., et al. “Food access, dietary acculturation, and food insecurity among international tertiary education students: A scoping review”. Nutrition 85 (2021): 111100.
47. Kosendiak AA., et al. “Level of Physical Activity, Sleep Quality and Use of Personal Protective Equipment of Students at Wroclaw Medical University during the COVID-19 Pandemic”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20 (2023): 2406.
48. Boerma T., et al. “A global assessment of the gender gap in self-reported health with survey data from 59 countries”. BMC Public Health 16 (2013): 675.

Citation

Citation: Juliana Almeida-de-Souza., et al. “Changes in Lifestyle and Health Outcomes among University Students in Portugal during the COVID-19 Pandemic: FINESCOP Project".Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 7.12 (2023): 27-38.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Juliana Almeida-de-Souza., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.