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The Effects of COVID-19 on the Eating Habits of Children and Adolescents in Italy: A Pilot Survey Study

Nutrition during childhood and adolescence is very important for growth and can have long-term health implications. The COVID-19 lockdown caused significant changes in everyday life, including in children and adolescents. This study evaluated the effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown on eating habi...

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Autores principales: Pujia, Roberta, Ferro, Yvelise, Maurotti, Samantha, Khoory, Janin, Gazzaruso, Carmine, Pujia, Arturo, Montalcini, Tiziana, Mazza, Elisa
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8400531/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34444801
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu13082641
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author Pujia, Roberta
Ferro, Yvelise
Maurotti, Samantha
Khoory, Janin
Gazzaruso, Carmine
Pujia, Arturo
Montalcini, Tiziana
Mazza, Elisa
author_facet Pujia, Roberta
Ferro, Yvelise
Maurotti, Samantha
Khoory, Janin
Gazzaruso, Carmine
Pujia, Arturo
Montalcini, Tiziana
Mazza, Elisa
author_sort Pujia, Roberta
collection PubMed
description Nutrition during childhood and adolescence is very important for growth and can have long-term health implications. The COVID-19 lockdown caused significant changes in everyday life, including in children and adolescents. This study evaluated the effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown on eating habits and body weight in children and adolescents. An online cross-sectional survey was carried out among the parents of children (5–9 years) and adolescents (10–14 years) living in Italy. The online self-administered questionnaire included demographic and anthropometric data (reported weight and height) weight and dietary habit changes during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy (March to June 2020). A total of 439 participants were included. We found a change in eating habits with an increase in consumption of sweet packaged snacks (34%) and processed meat (25%), as well as bread, pizza and bakery products (47%). We also found an increase in vegetable, fresh fruit and legume intake (19%), and a reduction in sweet beverage and candy intake. A total of 59.7% of the participants reported body weight gain, with adolescents gaining more than children (67% vs. 55%, p = 0.010, respectively). In children, body weight gain was associated with a change in body height and increased consumption of dairy products and sweet packaged snacks, while in adolescents it was associated with an increased intake of comfort foods and processed meat. Our data highlighted the need to carefully monitor eating behaviors to avoid the establishment of unhealthy eating habits and prevent obesity in children and adolescents during periods of self-isolation.
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spelling pubmed-84005312021-08-29 The Effects of COVID-19 on the Eating Habits of Children and Adolescents in Italy: A Pilot Survey Study Pujia, Roberta Ferro, Yvelise Maurotti, Samantha Khoory, Janin Gazzaruso, Carmine Pujia, Arturo Montalcini, Tiziana Mazza, Elisa Nutrients Article Nutrition during childhood and adolescence is very important for growth and can have long-term health implications. The COVID-19 lockdown caused significant changes in everyday life, including in children and adolescents. This study evaluated the effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown on eating habits and body weight in children and adolescents. An online cross-sectional survey was carried out among the parents of children (5–9 years) and adolescents (10–14 years) living in Italy. The online self-administered questionnaire included demographic and anthropometric data (reported weight and height) weight and dietary habit changes during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy (March to June 2020). A total of 439 participants were included. We found a change in eating habits with an increase in consumption of sweet packaged snacks (34%) and processed meat (25%), as well as bread, pizza and bakery products (47%). We also found an increase in vegetable, fresh fruit and legume intake (19%), and a reduction in sweet beverage and candy intake. A total of 59.7% of the participants reported body weight gain, with adolescents gaining more than children (67% vs. 55%, p = 0.010, respectively). In children, body weight gain was associated with a change in body height and increased consumption of dairy products and sweet packaged snacks, while in adolescents it was associated with an increased intake of comfort foods and processed meat. Our data highlighted the need to carefully monitor eating behaviors to avoid the establishment of unhealthy eating habits and prevent obesity in children and adolescents during periods of self-isolation. MDPI 2021-07-30 /pmc/articles/PMC8400531/ /pubmed/34444801 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu13082641 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Pujia, Roberta
Ferro, Yvelise
Maurotti, Samantha
Khoory, Janin
Gazzaruso, Carmine
Pujia, Arturo
Montalcini, Tiziana
Mazza, Elisa
The Effects of COVID-19 on the Eating Habits of Children and Adolescents in Italy: A Pilot Survey Study
title The Effects of COVID-19 on the Eating Habits of Children and Adolescents in Italy: A Pilot Survey Study
title_full The Effects of COVID-19 on the Eating Habits of Children and Adolescents in Italy: A Pilot Survey Study
title_fullStr The Effects of COVID-19 on the Eating Habits of Children and Adolescents in Italy: A Pilot Survey Study
title_full_unstemmed The Effects of COVID-19 on the Eating Habits of Children and Adolescents in Italy: A Pilot Survey Study
title_short The Effects of COVID-19 on the Eating Habits of Children and Adolescents in Italy: A Pilot Survey Study
title_sort effects of covid-19 on the eating habits of children and adolescents in italy: a pilot survey study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8400531/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34444801
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu13082641
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