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. 2021 Oct 8;18(19):10552.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph181910552.

COVID-19 and the Change in Lifestyle: Bodyweight, Time Allocation, and Food Choices

Xiaolei Li  1 , Jian Li  1 , Ping Qing  1 , Wuyang Hu  2
Affiliations

COVID-19 and the Change in Lifestyle: Bodyweight, Time Allocation, and Food Choices

Xiaolei Li et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

We analyze the dynamic changes in individuals' lifestyle during the COVID-19 outbreak and recovery period through a survey of 1061 Chinese households. Specifically, we are interested in individuals' bodyweight, time allocation and food choices. We find that COVID-19 is associated with weight gain, less time spent on exercise and more time on entertainment. The proportion of online food purchase and snack purchases also shows an upward trend. This study provides useful implications on the impact of COVID-19 and its associated lockdowns on individuals' lifestyle and offers foresights for countries in different stages of the pandemic. It explains how encouraging exercise, managing new food purchase venues, and reducing the intake of unhealthy food such as snacks may also need to be considered in dealing with the aftermath of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; bodyweight; food choices; lifestyle; time allocation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trend in bodyweight (a), exercise time (b), entertainment time (c), online food purchase (d) and snack purchase (e) during COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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