Estilo de vida e comportamento alimentar de universitários durante o período da pandemia de COVID-19

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to contain its spread have influenced people's lifestyles, bringing unfavorable health repercussions and impacts on the adoption or maintenance of beneficial behaviors. At the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM) there was a suspension of face-to-face activities, which may have influenced the students' lifestyle and food. From this scenario, this study aimed to investigate the lifestyle and eating behavior of UFAM undergraduate students during the Covid-19 pandemic. The specific objectives were (i) to describe the lifestyle profile and eating behavior of university students during the Covid-19 pandemic, (ii) to verify whether there are differences in the lifestyle and eating behavior of students based on the gender variables, area of knowledge, course and period studied, (iii) to correlate the domains of lifestyle with the profiles of eating behavior and, (iv) to assess the accuracy of the instruments used. The study was developed remotely, with a quantitative design, and it was cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational. A total of 112 students from different courses participated, with an average age of 23 years, and the assessment instruments were Individual Lifestyle Profile (PEVI) and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21). The data underwent the analysis of Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk and did not show normality, then they were analyzed in a descriptive way, with measures of central tendency. The inferential statistical analysis was carried out with the Kruskal-Wallis test to verify the differences between the groups, considering the variables gender, area of knowledge, course and period attended by students. The Spearman Correlation test was performed to correlate the instruments, and finally the precision analysis was performed using Cronbach's Alpha. The results showed that the lifestyle of UFAM undergraduate students was below average (21.01 points) in a rating from 0 to 45 points. In the analysis of the domains, Physical Activity (M = 0.8 and SD = 0.7) was classified as negative and Preventive Behavior (M = 1.9 and SD = 0.6) was classified as regular, with the highest average among the domains. In the comparison between genders, there was a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in the Nutrition domain, with a higher mean for females (M = 1.31 and SD = 0.73). Between courses, areas of knowledge and periods (beginning, end of course and non-periodized) there were no significant differences. Regarding eating behavior, the highest average was in Emotional Eating - EE (M = 40.42 and SD = 30.18), followed by Cognitive Restraint - CR (M = 39.58 and SD = 20.15) and Uncontrolled Eating – UE (M = 34.50 and SD = 20.82) on a scale from 0 to 100. In the comparison between groups, significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) between genders were observed, with the mean of the female gender higher in the EE (M = 44.44 and SD = 28.81); among the areas of knowledge, students of Exact Sciences had the highest averages in EE (M = 55.55 and SD = 33.64). There were no significant differences between courses and periods. In the correlations between PEVI and TFEQ-R21, moderate correlations were found between Physical Activity and Cognitive Restraint (r = 0.335) and negative correlations between Stress Control and Uncontrolled Eating (r = -0.326). The PEVI showed reasonable accuracy (Cronbach's alpha of 0.72), and the TFEQ-R21 showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.85). The findings are similar to those found in studies with university students and the general population during the pandemic period. They point to the need to adopt preventive programs in the university context, which can be developed through educational campaigns, courses on aspects of a healthy life, conversation circles and other strategies that can raise awareness among students, promoting health and a better lifestyle.