Health Practices and Nutrition Status of University Students during COVID-19 Pandemic Period

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Tabitha M. Muchee
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
James Fallah
Department of Dental Hygiene, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
Leandra Madden
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
Paul Andrew Bourne
Department of Institutional Research, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
Curtis Foster
Department of Dental Hygiene, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
Caroline McLean
Department of Nursing, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
Calvin Campbell
Department of Mathematics and Engineering, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.

Abstract

Background: Many students faced challenges while taking online classes at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges are in various forms but are no less impactful.


Objectives: This study explored the health practices and nutrition status of University Students during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Method: The research design was a co-relational non-probability convenience sampling procedure with a sample size of one hundred and ninety-eight (n=198) students from a private university. Google Forms served as a repository for the data collection, and data was then transferred into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 for further analysis.


Results: Of the sampled respondents (n=198), the majority were females 183 (92%), were in the age category of 21-30, 104 (52.5%), resided in Manchester 60 (30.3%), were in the College of Allied Health and Nursing 155 (78.3%) and were second-year 129 (65.2%). The results showed a significant correlation between respondents' perception of their nutrition status, BMI, chronic diseases and their health practices, engagement in physical activities, and consumption of healthy foods during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, students' appetite increased; they were cooking food and eating more leftover food; sleeping fewer hours per night; their physical activity levels declined, and some indicated weight gain during the lockdowns.

Article Details

Issue
Vol 4 No 1 (2021): International Journal of Recent Innovation in Food Science & Nutrition
Section
Articles