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PurposeThis study aims to identify comfort food (CF) consumption and its associated factors during the pandemic period. The study also involves an online survey conducted five months after the quarantine started in Brazil. Design/methodology/approachData on lifestyle, eating habits and anthropometric data were collected before and during the pandemic, and the differences in these habits were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were performed to identify predictors of CF consumption by gender. FindingsA total of 1,363 individuals were included in the sample, with a median age of 31 years old, of whom 80.3% were women. Since individuals were free to respond about the food consumed without predetermined categories, it was possible to carry out a faithful assessment of the occurrence of this behavior. At the same time, allowing the subjectivity and symbolism inherent to the concept of CF to be embraced. CF consumption was present for 54%, with "sweets" being the most mentioned group by both genders. The factors associated with CF consumption in women during the pandemic were increased snacking, increased bread, candies and alcoholic beverage intake, increased time spent at work, worsened sleep quality, reduced meals, perceived stress (PS), emotional eating (EE), age and increased frequency of meat intake. In men, the predictors for CF consumption were remote full-time work/study, PS, EE and early waking time. For both genders, CF consumption during the pandemic period was associated with PS and EE. Originality/valueThis study provides an important overview of the possible contributions of the pandemic on behaviors and food choices related to the consumption of CF in Brazilians. This information is valuable to support further studies to investigate and treat the impacts of the pandemic on lifestyle, eating habits and behavior, mental health and other factors in the postpandemic period.
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The Covid-19 pandemic forced the world population to incorporate prevention activities into their daily lives to preserve people's physical health. In Colombia, the national government, through resolutions and decrees, regulated quarantine and preventive isolation in order not to saturate health services and intensive care units, which were not prepared to respond to the disease. In this sense, this article analyzed the habits of physical activity, well-being, and quality of life in preventive isolation - Covid-19 in Bogota, Colombia. A cross-sectional descriptive quantitative study was conducted on a sample of 1,775 people with an average age of 43.5+or-25.5 years, of which 50.9% (n=903) corresponded to women and 49.1% (n=872) to men. It was found that due to the confinement the consumption of coffee and alcoholic beverages increased, as well as a decrease in physical activity. In addition, manifestations of anxiety, depression and feelings of loneliness were identified, which directly affected people's well-being and quality of life. It is expected that this type of research will contribute to the understanding of the impact of the contingency measures taken by the different nations to curb Covid-19 infections on people's health.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to trigger a global economic and food supply crisis, which further affects children's nutritional status as a vulnerable group. This study aimed to observe alterations in nutritional status before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (during 2019-2021) and determinant factors involved in the improvement of nutritional status (based on the height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) index category) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings were intended as evidence-based suggestions for policy formulation concerning the improvement of child nutritional status and stunting reductions. This study was part of a cohort study of children's growth and development conducted by National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD) in Bogor city-Indonesia. The analysis was conducted on 565 children under five in 2019 with height measurement data in 2019 and 2021, environmental conditions, parental education, consumption habits, and social assistance. Children were classified as having an improved nutritional status if the HAZ category increased in 2021 compared to 2019. In addition, multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to predict determinant factors involved in improving the child's nutritional status. In this study, 17.5% of children had improved nutritional status, and 79.3% had a steady nutritional status. However, there were 3.2% of children with decreased nutritional status. Model factors determinant related to improved nutritional status includes consumption more than once per week of red meat (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.15;95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-4.35, p=0.034), milk consumption more than once per week (aOR = 1.56;95% CI: 0.89-2.74, p=0.119), and age under 5 years old (aOR = 1.86;95% CI: 1.14-3.15, p=0.016). Children under five years old, the consumption of red meat and milk more than once a week have the opportunity to improve nutritional status (by height-for-age index) in children.
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People's way of consuming media changed tremendously with rapid technological improvements and increased internet penetration levels across India due to emergence of over-the-top media services (OTT) platforms. COVID-19 outbreak has tremendously increased the demand for OTT streaming channels like Netflix, Amazon prime, Zee 5, Alt Balaji and Disney Hotstar which transformed the world of entertainment and media by contributing mind blowing services during the lockdown period.This research paper is an attempt to study the shift in media consumption patterns from old ways of entertainment like cinema, television to new ways of entertainment like OTT platforms, study and analyze the consumer preference towards choice of OTT platforms, watching habits of online over the top (OTT) applications among Indian viewers. © 2023 IEEE.
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Few studies exist on the reading habits of the deaf population, and most of those that do were published more than 20 years ago. Hence, changes in reading habits due to the availability to the deaf population of online reading material and portable electronic devices have likely occurred. Additionally, in the hearing population, confinement causes changes in reading habits. We used an online questionnaire to compare the reading habits of 102 deaf and hard of hearing adult residents of Spain both before and during COVID-19 confinement. In general, more reading occurred during confinement, although not all participants showed this pattern: Regular readers read more during lockdown. Motivations for reading were largely unaffected by confinement. Furthermore, the time spent reading was not related to the availability of books at home: More was read in digital format during confinement.
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The appearance of COVID-19 changed the lifestyle of many people as it spread rapidly around the world, causing concern to the entire health system due to the high number of infected and leading to a general confinement, changing the lifestyle and eating habits of many people causing diabetes, which is a disease caused by the high level of glucose in the blood, which can generate serious problems in the health of the person since it has no cure, this progressive disease is controlled or monitored by conventional glucometer equipment that generates pain in patients because they require blood samples to measure glucose, worse for those diabetics who must have the measurement several times a day. In view of this problem, this article will make a portable blood glucose meter system for the self-monitoring of diabetic patients and determine the blood sugar level to visualize it by means of a screen, with this system the measurement will be made without pain and will show the value of the glucose level accurately, Helping diabetic patients who perform monitoring several times a day. Through the development of l system, it was observed that it works in the best way with an efficiency of 96.97% in the measurement of glucose, when comparing with others equipment glucometers obtained a relative error of 2.99%, being an error accepted to approach the real value. © 2023 IEEE.
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The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by the emergence of the new coronavirus (SARS-Cov2) in Wuhan, China, on December 12, 2019, and it has significantly impacted human health. It has also caused abrupt changes in lifestyle that have had social and economic repercussions, including social exclusion and isolation at home. This study aimed to investigate how COVID-19 has affected the food habits and lifestyle of the general population. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Chennai to assess the awareness level of the population regarding the protective measures they take during the pandemic, and 500 participants of all ages were included in the study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. The study found that over 50% of the participants increased their intake of vegetables and fruits, and about 49.33% decreased their intake of fast food and snacks. Furthermore, more than 40% of the participants added immune-boosting ingredients to their diet. These results suggest that the study population adopted healthier dietary habits and behaviors, including a more nutritious diet with more vegetables, immune-boosting foods, and increased water intake. © 2023 IEEE.
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Purpose: Organic food consumption decreases the risk of becoming obese or overweight. This study intends to see the influence of customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort and natural content on the intention to purchase organic food (IPOF) that leads to the actual purchase of organic food (APOF). Moreover, organic food availability is a moderator between IPOF and APOF. Design/methodology/approach: PLS-SEM is used for hypothesis testing. A purposive sampling technique was followed to gather data from organic food consumers in Lahore, Gujranwala and Islamabad and a total of 479 questionnaires were part of the analysis. Findings The outcomes show that customer perceived value, effort and natural content is positively related to IPOF. Despite this, COVID-19 fear and food neophobia are negatively associated with IPOF. IPOF and organic food availability are positively related to APOF. Finally, organic food availability significantly moderated between IPOF and APOF. Practical implications: This study outcome reveals that companies of organic food can recognize customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort, natural content and organic food availability in their decision-making if they determine the actual purchase of organic food. This study offers a valuable policy to companies of organic food to enhance customer's behavior in purchasing organic food in Pakistan. Besides, practitioners and academicians can benefit from this study finding. Originality/value: This initial research integrates customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort, natural content, IPOF and organic food availability to determine APOF in the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, consumption value theory is followed to develop the framework.
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The pandemic spreading of the COVID-19 virus has led to the global need to introduce, often by law, the medical face mask, which can undoubtedly be considered as "the object of 2020.” In a few months, most human faces around the world in the public space, but also often in the private space, have been covered with various kinds of protective masks. Very soon, these objects have become the centre of several discursive productions, going from medical reports to media coverage, from artistic representations to ironic memes. The medical face mask was not totally new in the west, where it was already present in special circumstances, like dentists' studios or emergency rooms, and was quite familiar in the east, especially in Japan, China, and Korea. Yet such massive introduction changed the meaning of the medical face mask in every context. Old habits were reconfigured or clashed with the new ones, giving rise to a novel syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of the human face in conjunction with this device and in the context of the global pandemic. The present paper offers an introduction to a semiotic mapping of such radical cultural change and its likely consequences.
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Background: The Covid-19 pandemic radically changed the way of studying, suddenly we went from fa-ce-to-face learning to a virtual one, in many cases without digital media, without properly managing plat-forms, adding anxiety to contagion, fear of death, economic instability, the uncertainty that it will happen, brings with it changes in academic work, thus influencing academic performance. Aim(s): Relate anxiety, self-esteem and study habits with academic performance in Peruvian university students. Methos: Quantitative, longitudinal, correlational and prospective study with a non-probabilistic sample of 260 students from the 1st cycle of the USS period 2020-II, virtual questionnaires were applied to measure anxiety (Beck's Anxiety Inventory), self-esteem (Stanley's Self-esteem Inventory Coopersmith), study habits (CASM-85 Study Habits Inventory) and academic performance (Promotional Proceedings). Result(s): 40% of the students present a minimum level of anxiety, 50.4% present high average self-esteem and 25.8% have very positive study habits. Conclusion(s): There is a relationship between anxiety and academic performance with statistical significan-ce;while self-esteem, study habits and academic performance were not statistically significant.Copyright © 2023, Ediciones Avances S.L.. All rights reserved.
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The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of secondary school students about mathematics lessons taught with distance education. The research was carried out by taking the opinions of 286 secondary school students from one state school selected from each of the provinces (Manisa, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, Sirnak, Bitlis). Quantitative and descriptive survey method was used in the study. According to the findings, it was seen that the opinions of female and male students were very close to each other, there was no significant difference according to the variables of the number of siblings and whether they had their own study room, and there was a significant difference between 5th grade students and 8th grade students. Students;It was seen that there was no difference in their views on understanding the lesson better and increasing their success, they did not have any problems in accessing the Mathematics lesson, but they had problems due to internet interruptions during the lesson, they did not have any problems in communicating with their teachers and delivering homework during the lesson, but they still preferred face-to-face education at a high rate. It was observed that the motivation of the 5th grade students during the lesson and their better understanding of the lesson were higher than the 8th grade students.
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Objective: to determine the level of physical activity (NAF), screen time (TP) and sleep habits (HS) in Chilean adolescents, during the COVID-19 quarantine. Methodology: descriptive and correlational study with a sample of 196 adolescents from different regions of Chile. Results: In general, the most active students did not exceed the PD recommendations and reported higher values of sleep quality and total score compared to those who did not meet both. Conclusion: the study indicates that, under a quarantine context, the variables are more altered in the female gender, in addition, the need to jointly analyze and monitor the NAF, TP and HS is evident to avoid disorders related to the health of the males. POST-COVID-19 students. © Copyright: Federación Española de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educación Física (FEADEF)
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Purpose: The nutritional and anthropometric status can be essential in determining their immune response to vaccines. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the association between diet quality and anthropometric indices with the side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G titer among Kurdish adults. Design/methodology/approach: This cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted between December 2021 and February 2022. This paper included data on 115 adults, 20-89 years old, from the Kurdistan region. Dietary information was collected using a short food frequency questionnaire, and diet quality was assessed using a plant-based healthy diet score. A blood test was performed to measure the SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobin G (IgG) titer after the vaccination's first and second doses. Findings: Overweight and obese subjects reported more local pain, myalgia, headache, local bruising and local reactions after receiving the first dose of the vaccine (p = 0.04). People on a less healthy diet reported more local pain, myalgia and headache (p = 0.04) and more local bruising and reactions (p = 0.01) after receiving the second dose of the vaccine. On the other hand, the authors observed that those with healthy dietary habits had more IgG titer after the first and second doses of vaccination than those with less healthy dietary habits (p = 0.001). Originality/valueThe results showed that participants with a healthy diet and normal weight status had fewer side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine than obese people and those with a less healthy diet.
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COVID-19 pandemic has brought a significant change in the lives of all population segments. Irrespective of the country, religion, economic status, and position worldwide, a committed thought is developed on "IMMUNITY" and "IMMUNITY BOOSTERS."The nutrition and health portfolio of many populations worldwide reported severe impacts from changing trends in modern lifestyle, food habits, food consumption, and the environment. Defining health remains a crucial task over several decades. The present study is to understand and evaluate the knowledge and purchasing behaviour of the population during COVID-19 time. A survey is conducted through social media platforms with pre-designed and tested questionnaires. Data were collected from 200 respondents. A rapid assessment survey was conducted using Google Forms. Google Form was distributed through various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and LinkedIn in Indian communities residing across the globe. The above data shows that 64% have consumed Vitamin C supplements almost every day for 15 days, 13% for one month, 10% of the respondents more than one month, and 13% took supplements as supplements per the doctor's advice. The results indicate that nearly 73% of the respondents started consuming supplements, 15% sometimes, and 4% of the respondents expressed their consumption was on and off. When questioned in detail, it is mentioned that they have taken supplements. The results depict buying behaviours, reading and understanding the food labels, purchasing supplements and immune boostersCopyright © 2023, Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and Chemical Sciences.All Rights Reserved.
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Purpose: Health workers have been greatly affected by the pandemic, both as a health worker and as a member of the society, and have gone out of their routine lifestyle and habits more than normal individuals. In the pandemic stage;intense, irregular and stressful work pace also disrupted the routine eating habits while increasing the need for nutrition. With this survey study, it is aimed to evaluate the nutritional habits, affecting factors and results of healthcare professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic stage. Materials and methods: For our study a questionnaire of 49 questions was prepared. It was continued between 01/06/2020 and 01/01/2021. Questionnaires were prepared on Google forms and sent to healthcare professionals via e-mail. Multiple-choice questions were asked about personal information such as the number of meals, whether they gained weight during the pandemic stage, foods believed to protect from Covid-19, nutritional supplements used during the pandemic period, and the reason for using supplements. The questions in the second category are;it mostly includes questions about changes in dietary and lifestyle of health workers during the pandemic period. It includes questions such as: ‘‘My meal count has increased'', ‘‘My water consumption has increased'', ‘‘My night eating behavior has improved'', ‘‘My sleep pattern has been disrupted'', ‘‘I gained weight during the pandemic'', ‘‘I smoke more'', ‘‘I drink more tea and coffee'', ‘‘I try to exercise''. The answers were obtained with a 3-point Likert scale (agree, undecided, disagree). Results: It was determined that health workers experienced weight gain during the pandemic stage. It was determined that the average weight and average BMI of health professionals showed a statistically significant increase (p<0.01). It was noticed that the participants had an increase in the number of meals during the pandemic stage (p<0.001). It was noticed that the vast majority of the participants took vitamin and mineral supplements. Conclusion: We found that healthcare workers took additional mineral and vitamin supplements, increased the number of meals, and experienced weight gain during the pandemic. Because of this, health workers should be given healthy snacks with high nutritional value during the pandemic stage. By health managers and administrators;a management and organizational plan including a healthy nutrition program especially in extraordinary situations such as pandemics can be created, for health workers who are exposed to intense, irregular and stressful working conditions and who are in high risk groups. © 2023, Pamukkale University. All rights reserved.
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The mobility sector accounts for about 10% of Italy's GDP, where the role of local Public Transport (PT) is crucial. Generally, PT use can limit the negative environmental impacts. However, with the advent of the recent pandemic, the local PT demand and mobility rate in Italy has decreased significantly, particularly during the lockdown period. Further restrictions were recently implemented (October - December 2021) on PT and on gathering areas to reduce potential contagion from virus variants. Such an uncertain situation has resulted in an epoch-making change in travel habits due to both the relevant restrictions for containing contagions (e.g., quotas of seats on-board, sanitization, use of masks) and the consequent psychosocial effects (e.g., anxiety, fear, and stress perceived by users when travelling). The present research assesses the PT use habits in the different pandemic phases. The data were collected from a sample of regular PT users in Sicily, Italy. The correlation analysis helped uncover significant factors responsible for influencing travel habits. The statistical analysis further revealed that the users travel habits have certainly changed during all the pandemic phases. The results lay the foundations for planning transport services and improving post-pandemic mobility in the examined context. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.
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Purpose: This study aims to identify the dietary patterns of two groups of subjects (with and without COVID-19), and to assess the relationship of findings with the prognosis of COVID-19 and metabolic risk parameters. Design/methodology/approach: This study included 100 individuals in the age range of 19-65 years. The medical history, and data on biochemical, hematological and inflammatory indicators were retrieved from the files. A questionnaire for the 24-h food record and the food intake frequency was administered in face-to-face interviews, and dietary patterns of subjects were assessed. Findings: In individuals with COVID-19, the hip circumference, the waist-hip ratio and the body fat percentage were significantly higher (p < 0.05), and the muscle mass percentage was significantly lower (p < 0.05). Mediterranean diet adherence screener (MEDAS), dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) and healthy eating index-2015 (HEI-2015) scores were low in the two groups. A linear correlation of DASH scores was found with the muscle mass percentage (p = 0.046) and a significant inverse correlation of with the body fat percentage (p = 0.006). HEI-2015 scores were significantly and negatively correlated with body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference and neck circumference (p < 0.05). Every one-unit increase in MEDAS, DASH and HEI-2015 scores caused reductions in C-reactive protein levels at different magnitudes. Troponin-I was significantly and negatively correlated with fruit intake (p = 0.044), a component of a Mediterranean diet and with HEI-2015 total scores (p = 0.032). Research limitations/implications: The limitation of this study includes the small sample size and the lack of dietary interventions. Another limitation is the use of the food recall method for the assessment of dietary patterns. This way assessments were performed based on participants' memory and statements. Practical implications: Following a healthy diet pattern can help reduce the metabolic risks of COVID-19 disease. Originality/value: Despite these limitations, this study is valuable because, to the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the first study demonstrating the association of dietary patterns with disease prognosis and metabolic risks concerning COVID-19. This study suggests that dietary patterns during the COVID-19 process may be associated with several metabolic risks and inflammatory biomarkers.
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In Colombia, overcrowding has historically been one of the main problems in prisons and penitentiaries, a fact that became more evident during the health crisis unleashed by COVID-19, as well as the way in which it violates the fundamental human rights of individuals deprived of their liberty. On the other hand, and from an educational perspective, another of the problems faced by the penitentiary system of the country is the reduced offer of training projects that have an impact on the development of the moral dimension of people in prison conditions, a shortcoming that, added to many others, hinders resocialization and explains the high recidivism in crimes.In this article, and supported by a reading of some of Dewey's works dedicated to thinking about human nature, its moral character and the characteristics of an authentic moral education, we advocate for an ethical education for people in prison conditions where the interest in transforming the conditions in which they develop and the creation of scenarios that favor the development of their capacity to reflexively examine experience through philosophy converge.Now, the conceptualizations presented here were precursors of a research process that began at the Universidad Nacional Abierta y A Distancia in the year 2021 under the guidance and accompaniment of Ph.D. Jose Barrientos-Rastrojo, professor at the University of Seville and director of the International Boecio Project, and in the framework of which stoicism workshops are developed in prisons oriented by students from different programs of the School of Education and the School of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities. This research project led to the adaptation of the workshops to virtual and distance modalities for the work with different vulnerable groups and its impact is currently being evaluated by different degree works associated with this research.
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Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the reflection of COVID-19 pandemic anxiety experienced in adults on nutritional habits during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted with 600 adults aged between 19 and 64 years. The general characteristics of the individuals, nutritional habits, use of dietary supplements and COVID-19 pandemic anxiety before and during the pandemic period were questioned via a Web-based questionnaire. COVID-19-related anxiety was assessed using The COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S) and The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 24.0. Findings: In this study, 49.8% of the participants stated that their appetite and food consumption amount increased during the pandemic period. The rate of use of dietary supplements among individuals was found to be 40%. It was observed that the mean body weight and body mass index increased significantly in both genders during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been determined that anxiety about COVID-19 is higher in individuals and women who start using nutritional support during the pandemic period. The total C19P-S and STAI scores of those who started using a dietary supplement during the pandemic were significantly higher than those who did not use a dietary supplement. Similarly, those whose eating habits changed positively and those who bought more packaged products had higher C19P-S scale mean scores (p < 0.05). Originality/value: During the COVID-19 period, it is important to reduce the anxiety levels of individuals, provide psychological support, raise awareness of adequate and balanced nutrition and the correct use of dietary supplements to adapt to the new lifestyle.
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This special issue contains 8 articles that discuss and highlights the importance of nutrition in mitigating the mental and health-related issues associated with the pandemic, as well as its effects on diet quality and physical activity levels. Topics include: (1) a systematic literature review that emphasizes the role of nutrition in minimizing mental and health-related issues during COVID-19. The review concludes that a healthy diet rich in essential nutrients can play a crucial role in supporting mental health, immune function and overall well-being during the pandemic. In addition, it highlights the need for public health interventions that promote healthy eating habits and provide access to nutritious foods, (2) adherence to the Mediterranean diet in Greek adolescents during COVID-19, (3) a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial investigated the effect of synbiotics on inflammatory markers and white blood cell count in COVID-19 patients, (4) COVID-19 pandemic anxiety was reflected in nutritional habits in adults, (5) investigation of the link between metabolic risks, dietary patterns and COVID-19 prognosis, (6) exploration of the factors related to sedentary lifestyle in a Brazilian sample during the COVID-19 initial quarantine.