Social Disparities in Lifestyle and Body Weight Changes during COVID-19 Quarantine and Post-Quarantine Persistence of Changes among Lithuanian Adult Population.

The role of social factors on changes in lifestyle habits during the COVID-19 quarantine and their maintenance post-quarantine is underexamined. This study aimed to assess sociodemographic differences in nutrition, physical activity and body weight changes during the quarantine and their persistence post quarantine. The study included a random sample of Lithuanian residents aged 20 to 64. The questionnaires were filled in during the face-to-face interview within households countrywide in 2023. In total, 1500 individuals (742 men and 758 women) participated in the survey. Up to 34.9% of the respondents reported changes in eating habits, mostly increased consumption, 29.5% indicated reduced physical activity, and 22.7% gained weight. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that highly educated individuals were more likely than poorly educated individuals to increase healthy and decrease unhealthy food consumption and increase physical activity during the quarantine. The city inhabitants reported unfavourable changes in nutrition habits more often than those living in villages did. The proportion of respondents who reported the maintenance of the quarantine changes in lifestyle depending on the habit varied from 23.2% to 71.4% in the post-quarantine period. Highly educated individuals were less likely to maintain the decreased consumption of fresh fruits and increased body weight than less-educated individuals were. Our study provides evidence that the targeted interventions are needed to help less-educated individuals and city residents develop and maintain healthy lifestyle habits, even in times of crisis.

Changes in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Body Weight among Lithuanian Students during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle changes remains understudied. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess changes in nutrition, physical activity, and body weight among Lithuanian students during the pandemic and their post-pandemic persistence. Data were collected from 1430 first-year students (325 males, 1105 females) through an online self-administered questionnaire. The students indicated an increase in the consumption of snacks, fast food, home-made confectionery, and sweets. A decrease in physical activity during the pandemic was reported by 34.9% of males and 33.2% of females. Lifestyle changes during the pandemic were associated with post-pandemic habits. A higher proportion of females (38.7%) than males (31.1%) indicated an increase in BMI, which was more pronounced among students with overweight. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that reduced physical activity; the increased consumption of red meat, snacks, fast food, and home-made confectionery during the pandemic; and post-pandemic BMI were linked with weight gain. After the pandemic, weight gain persisted in 40.9% of students who continued to follow unhealthy nutrition habits and had reduced physical activity. The study emphasizes that the promotion of a healthy diet and regular physical activity among university students is essential for developing lifelong habits that contribute to a healthy body weight and overall well-being.

Family structure and affluence in adolescent eating behaviour: a cross-national study in forty-one countries.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the family structure and affluence-related inequality in adolescent eating behaviour. DESIGN: Multivariate binary logistic regression and path analyses were employed to evaluate the impact of family structure and affluence on the consumption of fruits, vegetables, sweets and soft drinks among adolescents. SETTING: The cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in 2013/2014 across forty-one countries. PARTICIPANTS: Adolescents aged 11-15 years old (n 192 755). RESULTS: Adolescents from a non-intact family were less likely to eat daily fruits (OR 0·82; 95 % CI 0·80, 0·84), vegetables (OR 0·91; 95 % CI 0·89, 0·93) and sweets (OR 0·96; 95 % CI 0·94, 0·99), but were more likely to consume soft drinks (OR 1·14; 95 % CI 1·11, 1·17), compared with their counterparts from an intact family. Adolescents who had the lowest family affluence scores (FAS) were less likely to eat daily fruits (OR 0·51; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·53), vegetables (OR 0·58; 95 % CI 0·56, 0·60) and sweets (OR 0·94; 95 % CI 0·90, 0·97), but were more likely to consume soft drinks (OR 1·25; 95 % CI 1·20, 1·30), compared with their counterparts who had the highest FAS. Across countries, a wide range of social inequality in daily consumption of foods was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Among adolescents in Europe, Canada and Israel, there was a high level of family structure and family affluence inequalities in daily food consumption. Different aspects of family socio-economic circumstances should be considered at the national level designing effective interventions to promote healthy eating among adolescents.

Gender and Age Differences in Social Inequality on Adolescent Life Satisfaction: A Comparative Analysis of Health Behaviour Data from 41 Countries.

This study examined the gender and age differences in social inequality on life satisfaction among adolescents in 41 countries. Representative samples of adolescents aged 11⁻15 years from 41 countries were surveyed using the Health Behaviour Study among School-aged Children 2013/2014 (HBSC) questionnaire and research protocol. A Relative Index of Inequality (RII) estimated from the Poisson regression was employed to measure the level of social inequality. Family affluence was significantly positively associated with higher adolescent life satisfaction in nearly all countries (RII = 1.344; 95% confidence interval: 1.330⁻1.359). The average RII values for boys and girls were almost equal (1.318) and did not differ significantly across 11-, 13- and 15-year-old groups (1.373, 1.324 and 1.342, respectively). However, the gender and age differences in this association were controversial across countries. An analysis of data by countries revealed that among students from Israel, Italy and Ireland (in seven countries altogether), social inequality in life satisfaction (LS) was significantly greater for girls, while among students from Norway, the Republic of Moldova and the Czech Republic (in 20 countries altogether), social inequality in LS was significantly greater among boys; in 14 countries, the RII value did not significantly differ between boys and girls. Comparing social inequality in LS between 11- and 15-year-olds, in nine countries (e.g., Belgium-Flemish, Czech Republic, Netherlands) the RII was significantly greater among 15-year-olds, in 16 countries (e.g., Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Spain) the RII was significantly greater among 11-year-olds, and in 16 countries there were no significant differences in RII values. In conclusion, social inequality in adolescent LS differs between boys and girls and between age groups, providing substantial variation in these differences across countries.