Diet Quality and Its Association with Lifestyle and Dietary Behaviors among Croatian Students during Two COVID-19 Lockdowns
Danijela Pfeifer 1,Josip Rešetar 2ORCID,Martin Šteković 2,Magdalena Czlapka-Matyasik 3ORCID,Donatella Verbanac 2ORCID andJasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić 1,*ORCID
1 Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2 Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
3 Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-624 Poznan, Poland
The present study aims to assess the diet quality, the relationship between diet quality and lifestyle, and the association of diet quality with body mass index and students’ field of study during COVID-19 lockdown periods (spring and winter) in 2020. Datasets were collected via an anonymous online self-reported questionnaire distributed during two time periods using social media. A total of 1939 Croatian students (82.4% women and 17.6% men) completed the questionnaire. Diet quality was assessed using the pro-healthy diet index (pHDI) and non-healthy diet index (nHDI). An increase in diet quality was noted during both lockdown periods but was lower during the winter lockdown. Cooking for oneself was associated with a high level of pHDI, while ordering or buying ready-to-eat food was linked to a low level of pHDI. Additionally, a decrease in screen time and increased physical activity was associated with high pHDI values. Furthermore, during both lockdown periods, students with a BMI above 30 kg/m2 had the highest nHDI values compared to other students. Although positive changes were found during both lockdown periods, they were less pronounced throughout the winter lockdown. Further studies are needed to elucidate the real impact of these changes in the post-COVID period.
Keywords: COVID-19; lockdown; students; diet quality; dietary behavior; lifestyle behavior; body mass index; nutrition knowledge
Foods 2023, 12(13), 2532; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12132532
