Eating habits of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: The impact of social isolation.
J Hum Nutr Diet
; 34(4): 670-678, 2021 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1166097
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The social isolation enforced as a result of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may impact families' lifestyle and eating habits. The present study aimed to assess the behaviour and dietary patterns of Brazilian children and adolescents during the social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
The present study was conducted using an online, anonymous cross-sectional survey with 589 children and 720 adolescents from Brazil during a nationwide social isolation policy. The Mann-Whitney U-test or the Kruskal-Wallis with the Dunn post-hoc method and a radar chart were used to compare the weekly consumption of each food by age group and isolation status. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Analyses were conducted using R statistical software, version 4.0.2 (R Foundation for Statisitical Computing).RESULTS:
We found that isolated families showed breakfast eating habits and the consumption of raw salad, vegetables, beans and soft drinks. Lower-class isolated families and those from the Northeast region consumed fruits, juices, vegetables and beans less frequently. Compared to children, adolescents were less isolated (p = 0.016), less active (p < 0.001), exposed to longer screen time (p < 0.001), showed an inadequate sleeping pattern (p = 0.002) and were from lower-class families (p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:
Social isolation affected the eating habits of children and adolescents. Non-isolated families presented a lower consumption of healthy food, especially those among the lower class, from Northeast Brazil, as well as adolescents.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Isolation
/
Quarantine
/
Diet
/
Feeding Behavior
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
J Hum Nutr Diet
Journal subject:
Nutritional Sciences
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jhn.12901
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