The Daily Populous Tuesday January 19th, 2021 morning edition
Authored by cdnsciencepub.com and submitted by Shipachek

University students are a vulnerable group for poor dietary intake, insufficient physical activity and sedentary behaviour. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on university students’ dietary intake, physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Participants were students (n=125) from the Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina. An online questionnaire was administered retrospectively (for pre-pandemic) and prospectively (during the pandemic) to examine students’ dietary intake, physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Overall, nutrient and caloric intakes were significantly reduced (p<0.05) during the pandemic, and alcohol intake increased (p=0.03). Before the pandemic, 16% and 54% of the participants were meeting the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults (18–64 years) of 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity and 8 hours or less of sedentary activity respectively. Only 10% met the guidelines for physical activity while 30% met the guidelines for sedentary behaviour during the pandemic. The minutes per week spent engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity during the pandemic decreased by approximately 20% (p<0.001). The hours spent in sedentary activities increased by 3 hours per day (p<0.001). Our findings confirm that during the pandemic, students’ inadequate dietary intake, high alcohol consumption, low physical activity and high sedentary behaviour were significantly compounded. Novelty • During COVID-19, the nutrient and caloric intakes of university students decreased, and alcohol intake increased significantly. • University students’ physical activity levels decreased, and sedentary activity increased significantly during COVID-19. • During COVID-19 students did not engage in sufficient physical activity to offset the increased sedentary behaviour.

FindingAlaska on January 18th, 2021 at 22:11 UTC »

I often wonder about the long term effects of this pandemic for people who managed to avoid actually contracting Covid 19.

In my city we’ve been in various stages of lockdowns - some so strict we were not allowed to leave our homes for exercise.

Will two years of social isolation, worsened (or just bigger) eating habits and lack of exercise have a prolonged physiological effect or can the average person bounce back with ease one life is “normal” again?

Tichrom on January 18th, 2021 at 20:30 UTC »

As a graduate student, it really wasn't a drastic change in dietary habits for me. I kept eating all the same stuff I was before the pandemic, when I was in some of the best shape of my life. What changed was that I wasn't walking to/from the parking lot and my office every day, and I wasn't on my feet while TAing for a few hours each day, and I couldn't get to the gym the 4/5 times a week that I had been. This was all replaced with barely ever leaving my house, and so while I was eating the same things in the same amount, I simply wasn't burning the calories anymore.

jonny_magicpants on January 18th, 2021 at 18:46 UTC »

I would hazard a guess that it isn't only university students being impacted like this.