Page 23 - Petelin, Ana. 2020. Ed. Zdravje delovno aktivne populacije / Health of the Working-Age Population. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 23
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-015-8.21-28
Change of Dietary Habits during
Quarantine
Nives Bogataj, Karin Novak, Zala Jenko Pražnikar, Nina Mohorko
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Polje 42, 6310 Izola
bogataj.nives@gmail.com
Abstract
Introduction: Half of the world population was in quarantine in the
beginning of April 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Preliminary
research shows that good nutritional status and adequate physical
activity (PA) lead to a better immune defence and prognosis in case of
infectious diseases. However, people were at home most of the time and
as a consequence very big lifestyle changes occurred. The aim of the
present study is to investigate dietary changes during the latest quarantine.
Methods: Forty-nine adults (16 men, 34.8 ± 9.1 years, BMI: 22.6 ± 2.7 kg/
m2) included in the study filled out a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)
before and during quarantine. The participants were asked to answer where
and how often they bought food and to report a more than 3 kg increase
in body mass (BM) during quarantine. Twenty-two participants reported
their general appetite on a 1-5 scale and on a 1-10 scale for appetite for sweet
and snacks. They also completed a questionnaire about PA (International
Physical Activity Questionnaire – IPAQ), before and during quarantine.
Energy intake (EI), PA induced energy expenditure (PAEE), and Healthy
Eating Index (HEI) were determined. Baseline and quarantine values were
compared with the Student’s paired t-test. Results: EI dropped from 9.68
± 4.58 MJ/day (2311 ± 1093 kcal/day) at baseline to 7.89 ± 3.16 MJ/day (1885 ±
754 kcal/day) during quarantine (P=0.001), and PAEE dropped from 10.0 ±
7.9 MET/day at baseline to 5.0 ± 6.4 MET/day during quarantine (P=0.009).
PA was lower due to lower work-related PA and free time PA. The average
HEI was significantly lower during quarantine (baseline: 66.0 ± 14.8,
quarantine: 63.3 ± 13.2; P=0.026) mostly due to lower intake of seafood and
plant proteins, poorer ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids intake
(on the account of lower unsaturated fatty acids intake) and higher intake
of sodium. Although general appetite remained unchanged (baseline:
3.87 ± 0.69, quarantine: 3.78 ± 0.74, P=0.58), there was a trend observed in
increase of appetite for sweet (baseline: 4.43 ± 2.83, quarantine: 5.43 ± 2.61,
Change of Dietary Habits during
Quarantine
Nives Bogataj, Karin Novak, Zala Jenko Pražnikar, Nina Mohorko
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Polje 42, 6310 Izola
bogataj.nives@gmail.com
Abstract
Introduction: Half of the world population was in quarantine in the
beginning of April 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Preliminary
research shows that good nutritional status and adequate physical
activity (PA) lead to a better immune defence and prognosis in case of
infectious diseases. However, people were at home most of the time and
as a consequence very big lifestyle changes occurred. The aim of the
present study is to investigate dietary changes during the latest quarantine.
Methods: Forty-nine adults (16 men, 34.8 ± 9.1 years, BMI: 22.6 ± 2.7 kg/
m2) included in the study filled out a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)
before and during quarantine. The participants were asked to answer where
and how often they bought food and to report a more than 3 kg increase
in body mass (BM) during quarantine. Twenty-two participants reported
their general appetite on a 1-5 scale and on a 1-10 scale for appetite for sweet
and snacks. They also completed a questionnaire about PA (International
Physical Activity Questionnaire – IPAQ), before and during quarantine.
Energy intake (EI), PA induced energy expenditure (PAEE), and Healthy
Eating Index (HEI) were determined. Baseline and quarantine values were
compared with the Student’s paired t-test. Results: EI dropped from 9.68
± 4.58 MJ/day (2311 ± 1093 kcal/day) at baseline to 7.89 ± 3.16 MJ/day (1885 ±
754 kcal/day) during quarantine (P=0.001), and PAEE dropped from 10.0 ±
7.9 MET/day at baseline to 5.0 ± 6.4 MET/day during quarantine (P=0.009).
PA was lower due to lower work-related PA and free time PA. The average
HEI was significantly lower during quarantine (baseline: 66.0 ± 14.8,
quarantine: 63.3 ± 13.2; P=0.026) mostly due to lower intake of seafood and
plant proteins, poorer ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids intake
(on the account of lower unsaturated fatty acids intake) and higher intake
of sodium. Although general appetite remained unchanged (baseline:
3.87 ± 0.69, quarantine: 3.78 ± 0.74, P=0.58), there was a trend observed in
increase of appetite for sweet (baseline: 4.43 ± 2.83, quarantine: 5.43 ± 2.61,
