Influence of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Lifestyles and Eating Behavior of Cihan University Students

  • Yaseen Galali Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Food Technology Department, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin ‎University-Erbil, KRG, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5346-4755
  • Salih M.S. Zebari Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Department of Animal Resources, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin ‎University-Erbil, Erbil, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3289-0776
  • Kazhin Younis Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
  • Zainab Rizgar Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
  • Nareen Sidiq Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
  • Brwa Taha Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Keywords: COVID-19, eating behavior, eating pattern, lifestyle, Mediterranean diet

Abstract

Recent studies found that a city confinement as a result to Covid-19 outbreak resulted on eating and lifestyle behavior changes. This study investigated the influence of lockdown on eating and life style changes.  A cross-sectional study was done from December 18, 2021, to February 20, 2022.  The research composed of three parts. Part I  (6 questions) contained socio-demographic statues; section two (11 questions) studied dietary behavior through that included) a Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence using 14-scaled items with an MD screener tool ranging from 0 to 13; and section three (12 questions) studying lifestyle habit changes such as physical activity, sleeping habits, and smoking habits. The results showed that, 17% (63) of individuals that believed their lifestyle had improved, while 38.6% (143) stated it had worsened. Specifically, during lockdown, the physical activity frequency seems  reduced from 50% (185) to 33% (127), and sleeping hours for those sleeping more than 9 hours were dramatically raised from 17% to 31.4%. In terms of eating habits, 36.8% of participants stated appetite improvement, whereas 22.7% reported a decrease. The appetite change during confinement  was not connected with body mass index, although it was significantly associated with weight change (p =0.0001). Similarly, 47% of participant said they had gained weight. The data also showed that 67% (248) medium adhered to MD diet. Thus, the Covid-19 lockdown has negatively affected both lifestyle and eating behavior of the students.

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Author Biographies

Yaseen Galali, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Food Technology Department, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin ‎University-Erbil, KRG, Iraq

Yaseen Galali is a visiting assistant Professor at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Technology Cihan University-Erbil. He got the B.Sc. from Salahaddin University-Erbil, the M.Sc. degree from University of Plymouth. His research interests are in Functional Food, nutritional epidemiology and human nutrition.

Salih M.S. Zebari, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Department of Animal Resources, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin ‎University-Erbil, Erbil, Iraq

Salih Mustafa Salih Zebari is a Lecturer at  the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Technology, Cihan University-Erbil. He got the B.Sc. degree from Salahaddin University-Erbil, the M.Sc. degree from University of Greenwich, London and the Ph.D. degree from University of Plymouth. His research interests are in Food Authenticity & Fraud Detection Approaches, Food Security and Quality Control, Analyzing Food Hazards & Metal Detection, Assessing Consumers' Perception & Trust, Product Development & Sensory Analysis, Human Nutrition, Nutrition Assessment and Public Health.

Kazhin Younis, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Kazhin Yunis got the B.Sc. from Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Technology, Cihan University-Erbil. Her research interests are in Public health, nutritional epidemiology and human nutrition.

Zainab Rizgar, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Zainab Rzgar got the B.Sc. from Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Technology, Cihan University-Erbil. Her research interests are in Public health, nutritional epidemiology and human nutrition

Nareen Sidiq, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Nareen Sidiq got the B.Sc. from Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Technology, Cihan University-Erbil. Her research interests are in Public health, nutritional epidemiology and human nutrition.

Brwa Taha, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Cihan University- Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Brwa Taha got the B.Sc. from Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Technology, Cihan University-Erbil. His research interests are in Public health, nutritional epidemiology and human nutrition.

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Published
2022-11-30
How to Cite
1.
Galali Y, Zebari S, Younis K, Rizgar Z, Sidiq N, Taha B. Influence of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Lifestyles and Eating Behavior of Cihan University Students. cuesj [Internet]. 30Nov.2022 [cited 29Mar.2024];6(2):141-6. Available from: https://journals.cihanuniversity.edu.iq/index.php/cuesj/article/view/757
Section
Research Article