ABSTRACT
PurposeThis 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/approachThe 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.FindingsIn 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/valueDuring 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.
ABSTRACT
Droplet or human saliva is a semi-solid liquid that Covid-19 can catch on its patch media. It is also one of the causes of the fastest spread of Covid-19, resulting in a pandemic nowadays. So in this preliminary study, we created a tool that uses spectrophotometry to identify semi-solid liquids, including saliva, yogurt, and yeast water. The non-monochromatic spectrophotometric output will be classified using the neural network (NN) method. NN identifies the type of liquid by calculating the weight of each absorption wavelength of each semi-solid liquid sample from a non-monochromatic spectrophotometer. This initial research reveals several types of wavelength spectrum that can be recognized by Photodiode and RGB sensors through non-monochrome spectrophotometric methods. From the test results, saliva samples on glass media have a very high error rate of 99.9098%. For the overall average of saliva samples in all media, the accuracy is 89.1036%, and the error is 10.8964%. For the yogurt sample, the accuracy is 99.3075%, and the error is 0.6925%. The accuracy of the media without liquid is 78.8809%, and the error is 21.1191%. Based on the results, we found that the device can work properly as its aims. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The pandemic of the newly emerged coronavirus infection and its related disease, Covid-19, has influenced various aspects of human life including dietary habits. This study aimed to examine changes in dairy products consumption during Covid-19 lockdown period in a huge sample of Iranian households. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study using a web-based electronic self-administered questionnaire designed to detect any changes in the consumption frequency of dairy products in the Iranian households during Covid-19 lockdown. RESULTS: A total of 21,290 households were enrolled. During Covid-19 epidemic lockdown, about 29%, 26% and 7% of the households had decreased their consumption frequency of milk, yogurt and cheese, respectively. The female-headed households were 21% more likely to decrease their consumption of milk, compared with male-headed households (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.05-1.4). The households residing in food insecure provinces were 29%, 20% and 45% more likely to decrease their consumption of milk, yogurt and cheese as compared with those living in the food secure provinces. About 37%, 25.3%, 19.4% of those households who reported a decrease in consumption of dairy products had fully omitted them. CONCLUSION: We found considerable decrement of dairy products consumption, especially milk and yogurt, in a high proportion of the studied households. Inadequate intake and, in some households, omission of dairy products can potentially bring about serious health outcomes with heavier economic burden. Further studies to track these changes over time and to evaluate their health consequences are warranted.