Abstract

The World Health Organization on 30th January,2020 declared Covid-19 
pandemic, which emerged from Wuhan, China as a Public Health Emergency 
of International Concern. This study was conducted to understand changes in 
eating habits and lifestyle among adult population of Rawalpindi, Pakistan due 
to Covid-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using 
purposive sampling technique. A total of 550 respondents completed the 
survey consisting of eight sectioned structured questionnaire. SPSS-28 
Software was used for interpretation of results. Frequencies and percentages 
of variables were calculated. Chi-square and t-paired test were used for 
comparison of variables. More than half of the participants (57.0%) were 
female. The mean age of respondents was 28.57 ± 10.12 years. Nearly half of 
the participants (48.2%) were students. 61% respondents acquired some 
graduation degree. During the pandemic, 31.6% individuals had maintained 
their weight while weight gain and weight loss was reported by 31.3% and 
19.6% participants, respectively. There was an increase in consumption of fast 
foods as 53.3% were eating these foods frequently, when compared to 22.4% 
participants before the pandemic. During the pandemic, 66% participants 
consumed more than 3 meals daily and 69.8% had less than 8 cups of water 
per day. 59.6% survey participants used plain water for sanitizing fruits and 
vegetables. More than a quarter (31.6% ) respondents were not engaged in 
any sort of physical activity. The screen-time for entertainment showed 44% 
participants were using different gadgets for 3-5 hours daily. A significant 
increase in stress level parameters (p<0.05) was observed. Physical and 
emotional exhaustion was faced by 23% and 20% participants, respectively and 22% were irritable and tensed during this period. 67.1% participants were 
sleeping for more than 7 hours daily due to distressed daily routine caused by 
online mode of work and education. The fatigue levels also showed an 
increase from 10% to 54% when compared with figures of before and during 
the pandemic, respectively. Changes in eating habits and lifestyle during 
pandemic presents a major health concern requiring immediate attention of 
public health authorities. A good information, education and communication 
system is needed to for future pandemics preparation.