Table 9 Studies investigated the impact of COVID-19 on lifestyle
Confinement dimension | Current study (n = 5896, MENA) | Constant et al. [35] (n = 4005, France) | Di Renzo et al. [36] (n = 3533, Italy) | Ammar et al. [37] (n = 1047, International) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical activity | Decline in number of weekly exercises before and during confinement (2.22 ± 1.43 vs. 2.16 ± 1.43; P < 0.001)¶. 38.4% of the participants stopped practicing any physical activities (P < 0.001). | Decline in regular exercise and walking in 45% and 60% of the participants, respectively. | Increase in the weekly training frequency ≥ 5 times before and during confinement in 6.1% vs. 16.4% of the participants. (McNemar value = 259.529; P < 0.001). | Decline in number of weekly exercises before and during confinement (5.04 ± 2.51 vs. 3.83 ± 2.82; P < 0.001)¶. |
Smoking & alcohol | No significant changes in smoking habits. Alcohol consumption was not measured. | Slight increase in tobacco in regular smokers. Decline in alcohol consumption in regular drinkers. | Decline in smoking habits (McNemar value = 101.484, P < 0.001). Decline in alcohol consumption. | Smoking was not measured. Decline in alcohol consumption (t =  − 12.16, P < 0.001, d = 0.58). |
Eating behaviors | Improvement of eating habits in 30.9% of the participants. Worsening of eating habits in 24.8% of the participants. Decline in fast-food consumption in 48.8% of the participants (P < 0.001). Increase in vegetables and fruits consumption in 41.6% of the participants (P < 0.001) Before lockdown: no difference was found for gender regarding eating behaviors (r2 = 0.55; P = 0.49). During confinement: females tend to decrease fast-food consumption higher than males (r2 = 56; P < 0.01). | Improvement of eating habits in less than 40% of the participants. This improvement was associated with living with more than two persons. Worsening of eating habits has been noticed in elder participants with ages ≥ 40 years. Decline in snack consumption in 18% of the participants. Increase in snack consumption in 24% of the participants. | No changes in the frequency of daily in 57.8% of the participants. Changing in the main- mealtime or introduction of a break between meals was reported by 23.5% of the participants. Skipping the meals was reported by 17.5% of the participants. Increase in purchasing vegetables and fruits from farmers and organic grocery stores was reported by 15% of the participants. Decline in fast-food consumption in 29.8% of the participants (r2 = 9.560, P = 0.002). No difference was found for gender regarding eating behaviors. | Consuming unhealthy food was significantly higher during home confinement (t =  − 3.46, P < 0.001, d = 0.14). |
Weight gain | Increase of the weight in 21.3% of the participants. | NA | Weight gain was inversely and positively associated with the consumption of healthy food or fast-food, respectively (OR = 0.805, P = 0.002; OR = 3.122, P < 0.001) | NA |
Dietary supplementation | Significant increase in dietary supplement consumption, with a rate of 1328.7% for vitamin C, 31.8% for vitamin D, 163% for Zinc, and 26.2% for multivitamins | NA | ||