Back to Search
Start Over
Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Children's Health in North Africa.
- Source :
-
Maternal & Child Health Journal . Aug2022, Vol. 26 Issue 8, p1701-1708. 8p. 4 Charts. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Objectives: Lockdown measures have been adopted in many countries around the world to control the spread of COVID-19. These measures induced long confinement period that may have had an unintended negative impact on children's life behaviors and health. This study aimed to investigate the impact of behaviors related to COVID-19 confinement on body weight/BMI changes in children from Constantine, Algeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey based on children aged 5 to 12 years dwelling in any province of Constantine. Parents of children completed an online-distributed questionnaire at two time points (between April and May and anther time between 11th July and 10th august 2020). The questionnaire assessed sociodemographic information, anthropometric data, physical activity, dietary, eating habits, and other factors related to children's lifestyle before and during lockdown. Paired before and during lockdown comparison for each lifestyle multiple statistic tests were performed to assess associations among before and during lockdown data. Results: 275 questionnaires were completed (59.7%). Mean self-reported weight and BMI significantly increased by 1.43 kg and 0.84 kg/meter 2, respectively. Among the examined variables, increased unhealthy food consumption, snacks, number of daily meals taken, low physical activity and increased sedentary behaviors were significantly correlated with higher body weight gain (P < 0.005). These behaviors may not only have a significant impact on the development of childhood obesity but also on the deterioration of the mental state of the children surveyed. Conclusion: Restrictive measures during the COVID-19 lockdown, and home confinement, school closure makes children more vulnerable to environmental risks. Results from this study highlight the risk associated with a shift in eating habits, increased dietary intake, decreased physical activity, increased sedentary behaviors, and their impact in exacerbating the gain in body weight and BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *RISK of childhood obesity
*FOOD habits
*LIFESTYLES
*SEDENTARY lifestyles
*KRUSKAL-Wallis Test
*STATISTICS
*BODY weight
*CROSS-sectional method
*RESEARCH methodology
*CHILD development
*MENTAL health
*MANN Whitney U Test
*RISK assessment
*COMPARATIVE studies
*PHYSICAL activity
*WEIGHT gain
*T-test (Statistics)
*PEARSON correlation (Statistics)
*CHILDREN'S health
*HEALTH behavior
*QUESTIONNAIRES
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
*STAY-at-home orders
*BODY mass index
*DATA analysis software
*DATA analysis
*COVID-19 pandemic
*PARENTS
*CHILDREN
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 10927875
- Volume :
- 26
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Maternal & Child Health Journal
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 158205900
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-022-03441-2