Dietary Modification and Life Style Changes due to COVID-19 Pandemic Homestay among Nursing Students of Pokhara: Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In December 2019, new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2) emerged in Wuhan, China causing pandemic all over the world which results in homestay order. Homestay lead to changes in lifestyle like sedentary life, sleeping habits and eating behavior. So, the objective is to assess dietary and life style modification among nursing students of Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional online survey was conducted from August 1 to October 15, 2020. The setting of study (Manipal) was selected purposively in which enumerative sampling technique was used constituting total sample size of 216 nursing students. Data was collected through self-administer semi-structure questionnaire via online mode which was further analyzed using descriptive statistics SPSS 20.0 version. 

RESULTS: There was slight modification in intake of food items like fruits, vegetable, protein, fats, commercialized items, carbonated/sweetened beverages and non-vegetarian diets (chicken and fish). During COVID-19, less than one-fifth (15%) wake up before 7 AM and 78.2% sleep duration is 7-9 hours. About 64.1% pass their leisure time watching TV/ facebook/ messenger/ youtube/ whatsapp/ instagram. Nearly 99.1% engaged in household activities during home stay. More than three-fourth (77.8%) of respondents were doing physical activity. But still 69.9% had weight gain.

CONCLUSION: Despite physical and household activities, some unhealthy practices like waking up late, increased sleep duration and use of screen was observed. There was less modification in dietary pattern. So it is recommended to follow healthy diet like Mediterranean diet having several health benefits like weight reduction, prevention from non-communicable diseases and boost immune system in period of pandemic.