Acta Scientific Nutritional Health (ASNH)(ISSN: 2582-1423)

Research Article Volume 7 Issue 12

Changes in Lifestyle and Health Outcomes among University Students in Portugal during the COVID-19 Pandemic: FINESCOP Project

Anna Carolina Cortez Ribeiro1, Vera Ferro-Lebres2,3, Marta Arroyo-Izaga4, Liv Elin Torheim5 and Juliana Almeida-de-Souza2,3

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

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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.




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