Abstract

MARTINS, Juliana; TEIXEIRA, Beatriz; OLIVEIRA, Bruno MPM  and  AFONSO, Cláudia. IMPACT OF THE LOCKDOWN ON LIFESTYLES OF CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS IN NORTHERN PORTUGAL. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2023, n.32, pp.12-17.  Epub Aug 30, 2023. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2023.3203.

School plays an important role in health promotion regarding to healthy lifestyles and eating habits, with the closure of these establishments, due to the 2nd imposed lockdown by the COVID-19 pandemic, it became pertinent to assess the impact on the lifestyles of children/adolescents and study their associated factors. An online questionnaire was applied (to legal guardians of preschool/1st cycle students and 2nd/3rd cycle students) collecting sociodemographic information, anthropometric data, health status, lifestyles, and changes due the 2nd lockdown. UniANCOVA was used to identify the factors associated with the changes. This study was carried out in a Group of Schools in the Norther region of Portugal and had a total of 494 students (median age of 11, ranging from 3 to 16 years old, 51.0% female, 49.2% 3rd cycle, 35.2% overweight). Around 57.0%, 24.0% and 31.4% of the participants comply with the sleep, physical activity and screen time recommendations, respectively. More than 70.0% of students included non-recommended foods in snacks and dinner. Due to the lockdown, 93.0% reported at least one negative change and the most frequent was the increasing in daily screen time (63.8%). The most reported positive change was consuming more meals with the family (66.5%). Respondents who reported better self-perception of eating were those with the most positive lifestyle changes due to the pandemic. On the other hand, being between the 15th and 85th percentile of Body Mass Index was associated with more negative changes.

Keywords : Teenagers; COVID-19; Children; Lifestyles; Eating habits.

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