Dietary Habits and Lifestyle During Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown: Experience From Lebanon

Leila Cheikh Ismail; Mona Hashim; Maysm N Mohamad; Hussein Hassan; Abir Ajab; Lily Stojanovska; Amjad H Jarrar; Hayder Hasan; Dima O Abu Jamous; Sheima T Saleh; Rameez Al Daour; Tareq M Osaili; Ayesha S Al Dhaheri

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.730425

Dietary Habits and Lifestyle During Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown: Experience From Lebanon

Front Nutr. 2021 Aug 30:8:730425. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.730425. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Department, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
² Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
³ Department of Nutrition and Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁵ Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Research Institute for Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
⁷ Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the impact of quarantine on eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among the Lebanese adult population. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms between 3 June and 28 June 2020. The survey questions were adapted from the Short Food Frequency Questionnaire, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form, and the second version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. A total of 2,507 adults completed the questionnaire. During the lockdown, 32.8% claimed weight gain, 44.7% did not eat fruits daily, 35.3% did not eat vegetables on daily basis, and 72.9% reported drinking less than eight cups of water per day. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the number of meals consumed per day, consumption of homemade meals, sedentary time, stress, and sleeping disturbances during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic (all p < 0.001). However, there was a significant decrease in physical activity engagement, sleep quality, and energy level during the lockdown compared to before the pandemic (all p < 0.001). The study highlights that the COVID-19 lockdown was associated with unfavorable changes in dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors in Lebanon. Sleep and mental health were also negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Lebanon; eating habits; food security; lifestyle behaviors.