الملخص الإنجليزي
COVID-19 is a global pandemic that originated in 2019 and spread across the globe
with severe respiratory symptoms caused by Coronavirus-2. Various swift protective
measures have been implemented by countries worldwide to mitigate the spread of
COVID-19, including movement restrictions and stay-at-home restrictions. This study
aimed to determine whether the quarantine period and campus closures negatively
affected students in terms of dietary habits and physical activity. In addition, it aimed
to investigate the effects of changes in dietary behaviors and physical activity on body
weight differences. Cross-sectional research was carried out from February to
September 2022. The information was obtained via an online questionnaire using
Google Forms. The questionnaire had four parts and 60 questions to examine
participants' demographic information, dietary intake, physical activity before and
during the pandemic, and nutritional supplement use. The questionnaire was
completed by 376 students (165 men and 211 women) between the ages of 18 and 24.
A chi-square test, Mann Whitney test, Kruskal–Wallis's analysis, and descriptive
analysis were done to analyze the data. Statistical significance is defined as an alpha
level of less than 0.05. A preliminary analysis of the study results will provide
information regarding the impact of the pandemic on dietary behaviors, physical
activity, and body weight changes among university students. Thereupon, during the
pandemic, increased dietary intake was reported by about 45% of the sample. In
addition, about 46% of the respondents reported in the questionnaire that reducing their
level of physical activity during the pandemic. Moreover, there were food groups that
were consumed more during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as fish products, dairy
products and eggs, meat, and poultry, which have a high biological value (HBV).
Furthermore, according to the results, male students gained more weight than female
students due to lockdown restrictions, feeling of fear and anxiety, lack of physical
activity. Whereas female students are more concerned about their body shape and
healthy food intake. Regarding physical activity, the findings were that the study
sample was divided into two groups: students who were physically active before the
pandemic, then their activity and intensity decreased during the pandemic. The second
group of students, who were inactive before the pandemic, increased their activity and
intensity. Health professionals and stakeholders should place a high priority on
ensuring that students can deal with major life events without affecting their health.
