Does COVID-19 change dietary habits and lifestyle behaviours in Kuwait: a community-based cross-sectional study
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Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Does COVID-19 change dietary habits and lifestyle behaviours in Kuwait: a community-based cross-sectional study Wafaa Husain*
and Fatemah Ashkanani
Abstract Background: The coronavirus pandemic has transformed and continues to transform and affect the daily lives of communities worldwide, particularly due to the lockdown restrictions. Therefore, this study was designed to understand the changes in dietary and lifestyle behaviours that are major determinants of health during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire using a convenience sample of 415 adults living in Kuwait (age range 18–73 years). Results: The rate of skipping breakfast remained consistent, with a slight increase during the pandemic. Lunch remained the main reported meal before and during COVID-19. Compared to before COVID-19, people were much more likely have a late-night snack or meal during COVID-19 (OR = 3.57 (95% CI 1.79–7.26), p < 0.001). Moreover, there was a drastic decrease in the frequency of fast-food consumption during COVID-19, up to 82% reported not consuming fast food (p < 0.001). There was a significant increase in the percentage of participants who had their main meal freshly made (OR = 59.18 (95% CI 6.55–1400.76), p = 0.001). Regarding food group patterns, no significant differences were found before and during the pandemic in terms of the weekly frequency of consumption, except in the case of fish and seafood. There were no remarkable changes in beverage consumption habits among participants before and during the pandemic, except for Americano coffee and fresh juice. Furthermore, there was a great reduction in physical activity and an increase in the amount of screen time and sedentary behaviours. A notable increase was detected in day-time sleep and a decrease in night-time sleep among participants. Conclusion: In general, this study indicates some changes in daily life, including changes in some eating practices, physical activity and sleeping habits during the pandemic. It is important that the government considers the need for nutrition education programmes and campaigns, particularly during this critical period of the pandemic in Kuwait. Keywords: Dietary habits, Lifestyle, COVID-19, Kuwait
* Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] Home Economics department, College of Basic Education, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, Al-Ardiya, Kuwait © The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated other
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