EATING HABITS OF ADULTS IN SLOVAKIA DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic, domestic isolation and lockdown have resulted a change in people's lifestyles habits and behaviours, including nutritional behaviour worldwide. The aim of the research was to evaluate selected nutritional and health indicators and changes in eating habits of adults in Slovakia affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The group (n = 860;50.1% women) consisted of adults who did not have COVID-19, with a mean age of 41.3 ± 10.1 years. The comparison of eating habits from the online questionnaire was focused on the period before the pandemic vs. during the pandemic. The values of anthropometric parameters were obtained by the self-reported method. We used the software Statistica 10.0 (StatSoft Inc., USA) for statistical evaluation. Body weight increased during the pandemic in 39.2% of those surveyed. Significant (p < 0.05) weight loss was observed in men. During the pandemic, there was an increase in the consumption of milk and dairy products in 13.7% of respondents, but significantly (p < 0.001) more women (17.2% vs. 10%) limited the intake of milk and dairy products during the pandemic. The consumption of meat and meat products during the pandemic was significantly less in 22% of the group (with a predominance of women 26% vs. men 18%) (p < 0.01). A significant increase occurred in egg consumption in 14.9% of those surveyed (with a 6.4% predominance in males) (p < 0.05). Spirits were consumed by 67% of the group during the pandemic, significantly more men drank alcohol than women (74.8% vs. 59.2%) (p < 0.001). A favourable finding was the increased consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits during the pandemic period, while an increase in salt consumption was an unfavorable observation. During the pandemic the largest increase in the use of nutritional supplements was in the use of vitamin D (57.9%) and vitamin C (47.9%). However, the majority of respondents chose not to take probiotics (65%). Home isolation and lockdown resulted in a significant change in the nutritional behaviour of adults. © 2023, Consulting and Training Center - KEY. All rights reserved.

Slovak adult population during the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic

To mark World Obesity Day on 4th March 2021 an online survey was conducted between 4th and 8th March 2021 as part of the project "Be fit during the pandemic!". The aim was to analyze changes in eating habits, physical activity and health indicators in adults during the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 from March 2020 until March 2021. The survey involved 1,035 respondents from Slovakia (50.5% women and 49.5% men) with a mean age of 44.93 +or- 61.19 years (aged 20 to 73 years). Of those asked 70.9% lived in an urban area while 29.1% in the countryside. We assessed the lifestyle changes of the respondents using an anonymous questionnaire during the pandemic, based on whether they had Covid-19 and separated them by gender. We evaluated changes in health parameters (changes in glycaemia, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triacylglycerol's, blood pressure, body mass index-BMI, and waist-to-hip ratio-WHR indices). We used the statistical software Statistica 10.0 (StatSoft Inc., USA) for statistical evaluation with differences considered significant at p < 0.05.15% of the adults asked recovered from Covid-19. In the respondents' diet, we confirmed a significant difference (p < 0.01) in the consumption of meat and meat products, which were mainly consumed by men (37.97%, 9.49% more than women). During the pandemic, more women (p < 0.01) (44.30%) used vitamin D nutritional supplements than men (by 17.08%). When evaluating physical activity, more men (p < 0.01) used the stairs (33.76%, 10.76% more than women). In summary, to a greater or lesser extent, physical activity was predominantly performed by men (82.67% of men, 23.63% more than women, p < 0.05). Based on the online survey analyses, it is vital to raise people's awareness about positive lifestyle changes and their beneficial impact on health during a pandemic.

SLOVAK ADULT POPULATION DURING THE SARS-CoV-2 VIRUS PANDEMIC

To mark World Obesity Day on 4th March 2021 an online survey was conducted between 4th and 8th March 2021 as part of the project “Be fit during the pandemic!”. The aim was to analyze changes in eating habits, physical activity and health indicators in adults during the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 from March 2020 until March 2021. The survey involved 1,035 respondents from Slovakia (50.5% women and 49.5% men) with a mean age of 44.93 ± 61.19 years (aged 20 to 73 years). Of those asked 70.9% lived in an urban area while 29.1% in the countryside. We assessed the lifestyle changes of the respondents using an anonymous questionnaire during the pandemic, based on whether they had Covid-19 and separated them by gender. We evaluated changes in health parameters (changes in glycaemia, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triacylglycerol’s, blood pressure, body mass index-BMI, and waist-to-hip ratio-WHR indices). We used the statistical software Statistica 10.0 (StatSoft Inc., USA) for statistical evaluation with differences considered significant at p < 0.05. 15 % of the adults asked recovered from Covid-19. In the respondents’ diet, we confirmed a significant difference (p < 0.01) in the consumption of meat and meat products, which were mainly consumed by men (37.97%, 9.49% more than women). During the pandemic, more women (p < 0.01) (44.30%) used vitamin D nutritional supplements than men (by 17.08%). When evaluating physical activity, more men (p < 0.01) used the stairs (33.76%, 10.76% more than women). In summary, to a greater or lesser extent, physical activity was predominantly performed by men (82.67% of men, 23.63% more than women, p < 0.05). Based on the online survey analyses, it is vital to raise people’s awareness about positive lifestyle changes and their beneficial impact on health during a pandemic. © 2022, Consulting and Training Center - KEY. All rights reserved.