Obesity risk throughout collective quarantine for the COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) presented an opportunity to conduct an online survey to research the relationships between changes in body weight, physical activity and lifestyle during an unprecedented occurrence of forced isolation or quarantine among the population of Jadara University. We distributed an electronic questionnaire (cross-sectional) in Jadara University, Jordan, between March and May 2020, where a total of 200 students were approached (43.8% males and 56.2% females). Of 200 questionnaires returned, during the period of semi-lockdown, both females and males increased body weight significantly (p<0.05). Changes in body weight are inversely correlated with changes in the number of meals and increased stress during the quarantine. Quarantine carries some long-term effects on the rate of food intake and sleeping also affects the total body weight. With the prolonged quarantine, these figures are subject to increase consequently and the drawback on health status may drop to a considerably large percentage in the community. Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Romanian Journal of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases published by Sanatatea Press Group on behalf of the Romanian Society of Diabetes Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases.