Childhood Obesity and COVID-19 Lockdown: Remarks on Eating Habits of Patients Enrolled in a Food-Education Program.
Mirella NicodemoMaria Rita SpreghiniMelania MancoRita Wietrzykowska SforzaGiuseppe MorinoPublished in: Nutrients (2021)
Childhood obesity is a worldwide health emergency. In many cases, it is directly linked to inappropriate eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. During lockdown aimed at containing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread, children have been forced to stay at home. The present study aimed at investigating the lifestyles of outpatients (aged 5-17 years) with complicated obesity enrolled in the day-hospital food education program at the Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù in Rome. A survey was performed based on a structured questionnaire, investigating dietary habits and lifestyles. The questionnaire answers were rated as "yes/no/sometimes" or "often/never/sometimes". Eighty-eight families correctly completed the questionnaire between March and May 2020. The results highlighted that 85.2% (N = 75) of the patients ate breakfast regularly, and 64.3% (N = 72) consumed fruit as an afternoon snack. However, 21.6% (N = 19) did just "often" home workouts, and 50.0% (N = 44) reported an increase of feeling hungry with "sometimes" frequency. There is a significant relationship of feeling hungry with gender (p < 0.0001) and age (p = 0.048) and, also, between gender with having breakfast (p = 0.020) and cooking (p = 0.006). Living a healthy lifestyle during lockdown was difficult for the outpatients, mainly due to the increase in a sedentary lifestyle and the increase in feeling hungry, but some healthy eating habits were maintained, as advised during the food education program provided before lockdown.
Keyphrases
- coronavirus disease
- physical activity
- healthcare
- weight loss
- quality improvement
- end stage renal disease
- metabolic syndrome
- chronic kidney disease
- ejection fraction
- sars cov
- public health
- newly diagnosed
- cardiovascular disease
- mental health
- emergency department
- prognostic factors
- type diabetes
- young adults
- patient reported
- cross sectional
- adipose tissue
- insulin resistance
- health information
- climate change
- electronic health record