Factors associated with children's dietary patterns during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: a multinational study across Middle Eastern Arab Nations 10.55131/jphd/2023/210316
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Abstract
This study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Middle Eastern Arab children’s eating habits, body weight, lifestyle, physical activity, sleeping hours, use of smart electronic devices, and mental health. This exploratory study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire and distributed to parents of children aged 4–12 years. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to model the relationship between the predictors and children’s body weight changes during the pandemic. A total of 891 responses were included from Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Oman. The mean of the children’s weight gained during the pandemic was 4.19 ± 3.08 Kg. A sedentary lifestyle has significantly increased from 4% of children (pre-pandemic) to 17.9% during the pandemic (p < 0.001). Children’s sleeping hours have also significantly increased (> 9 hours/day) from 26.2% to 38.2%, respectively (p < 0.01). Emotional eating has increased from 72% to 91.5%, respectively. Around 84% of parents reported increased use of smart electronic devices by children (5.48 ± 2.87 hours). A significant proportion of the children became more nagging (251, 44.2%), stressed (192, 33.8%), lonely (153, 26.9%), and anxious (125, 22.5%). Increased body weight was more associated with girls, children residing in Jordan and Bahrain, children with working mothers, children of high-income or overweight parents, and children who were already overweight. The findings demonstrate that the COVID-19 lockdown resulted in reduced physical activity, increased food consumption, heightened use of smart electronic devices, and subsequently, increased body weight among children. It is imperative for health authorities to implement interventions, such as proper children's health education, to address these issues in the event of future lockdowns.
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