The COVID-19 Lockdown Impact on the Students’ Dietary Habits and Physical Activity Levels: The Case of Zayed University, Abu Dhabi (Research Proposal Sample)

The COVID-19 Lockdown Impact on the Students’ Dietary Habits and Physical Activity Levels: The Case of Zayed University, Abu Dhabi Student’s Name Department, Institution Course Name Professor Date of Submission Abstract The current research endeavors to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions have impacted the dietary habits and physical activity of students in Abu Dhabi. The main focus is made on female students who study at Zayed University in the UAE. High levels of disease transmission were the primary reason why the UAE government made the decision to take urgent measures to respond to the infection, imposing the lockdown and the UAE sterilization program. Consequently, the public places such as schools, universities, libraries, and shopping centers have shut down. These restrictions have made the students learn distantly online from home. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, making significant changes in the lives of people worldwide. Key words: COVID-19, dietary habits, physical activity, Zayed University Introduction As Abu Dhabi is home to many universities, students are a category of people who have experience significant changes in their life. Therefore, the current paper aims at investigating the changes that occurred in the dietary habits and physical activities of female students who study in Zayed University Abu Dhabi due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The number of people infected in the UAE was over 90,000 cases (Elfein, 2020). Unfortunately, the number of infected individuals rapidly increased, giving no changes to prevent its transmission and save people’s lives. In January 2020, the first lockdown was conducted in Wuhan as a precautionary measure in reaction to COVID-19. As a result of this outbreak, the government had to move quickly to contain the virus. The implementation of the COVID-19 lockdown had different impacts on students in different institutions. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the most populated Emirates as there is around 70% of the overall UAE population there (United Arab Emirates demography and statistics through a magnifying glass, 2021). Although the impact of the pandemic may be various in severity, there is no region that has been left without any consequences. The lockdown implementation negatively impacted the dietary habit and physical activity levels of many students in institutions including Zayed University. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacts people’s lives in all parts of the world. However, it spread very quickly and in several months the scope of infection was unbelievable. Literature Review COVID-19 is a viral respiratory infection that cause an infectious illness. The pathogen was at first discovered in December 2019 in China, Wuhan and has since spread all over the world resulting in the pandemic. The infection spreads from one person to another through close contact with infectious person (Aaron, K, 2020). Droplets containing the virus land on the surface and objects. Common symptoms of COVID-19 are sore throat, muscle pain, fever and headache. The symptoms are expected to occur 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Early research shows that the pathogen had a very high rate of multiplication hence putting older persons` and those with preexisting health concerns at a significant threat of severe illness and death. This prompted many countries to implement interim quarantines to stop the infection from spreading (Simon et al., 2021). Furthermore, older adults, people with kidney disease, obesity, diabetes type 2, sickle disorder, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are at a higher risk of getting sick of the virus. This infection can be prevented by good sanitation of hands and avoiding close contact with infected persons. There has been development of various vaccines such AstraZeneca, Moderna, to help in controlling its spread. The government has been obliged to adapt rigorous hygiene and national lockdown precautions as a consequence of COVID-19 epidemic, which has had an influence on food chains and workplaces. These measures have affected the general population both emotionally and psychologically. Evidence shows that there has been an increase in mental distress and depression cases. As a result, the pandemic`s economic and social upheaval is catastrophic; millions of people are at risk of falling into absolute poverty (Workie et al., 2020). The majority of informal economy employees lack social protection, access to adequate health care, and have vanished access to proper assets. Consequently, many are incapable of providing food for themselves and for their relatives. Farmers have been unable to access the market, and various activities concerning their daily responsibilities including marketing agricultural produce or harvesting crops on time because of border closure, and trade restrictions and quarantine measures, which interrupt internal and overseas food supplies and reduce the use of healthy, safe, and nutritious foods. The lockdown meant to contain the spread of COVID-19 influenced dietary and physical exercise patterns. Pérez-Rodrigo et al. (2021) conducted a study to establish the impact of COVID-19 measures on dietary and physical exercise patterns in Spain. The study found variation in changes in dietary and physical exercise among the Spanish population. People who were usually less active increased physical exercise level during confinement. Overall, there was an increased change towards healthier diets. More people reported high consumption of vegetables, fruits, and fish. However, excessive calorie intake during the lockdown, increased snacking, and limited consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables leading to weight gain drastically affected nutrient intake, which has been linked to lower immunity and higher rates of infection (Dragan et al., 2021). Quarantines resulted in staying at home restriction to student’s hence living life full of stress, anxiety, depression and emotional eating accompanied by increased calorie consumption, sleep disturbances and weight fluctuations. Honey, which possesses antiviral effects, was a frequent food taken during quarantine. In some cases, some people showed changes towards increased consumption of alcoholic beverages and processed food with high-fat content, depicting the need to have tailored support to different population groups. A similar study by Martínez-de-Quel et al. (2021), found that Spanish adults recorded significantly decreased physical activity and overall wellbeing. While physically active adults experienced a significant change in their level of physical activities, the study established that physically inactive participants did not undergo significant change due to lockdown and other covid-19 mitigation measures. The confinement and lockdown measures imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19 have produced restrictions in people's lifestyles across the world. In Italy, COVID-19 and resulting restrictive measures including lockdown caused a decrease in physical activities and increased sedentary activities among Italians (Mascherini et al. 2021). The decrease in physical activity was due to the closure of many recreation facilities, including gymnastics and other facilities, as the country's health ministry imposed policies to combat the spread of the virus. Additionally, the study found a change in eating habits. The prevalence of eating at home increased definitely. The country recorded an improvement in the choices of cereals and fruits. However, the study established that people compensated for decreased physical activity by embracing healthier food choices. The virus did affect not only the general population but also college students. According to Amatori et al. (2020), Italian college students were adversely affected by COVID-19 which caused poor mental health outcome, reduce physical exercise level and adverse change in dietary habits. Poor mental health associated with the COVID-19 measures led to an unhealthy diet and low exercise level linked to negative mood. The COVID-19 confinement reduced physical activity and increased sitting time hence physical inactivity, which is a pandemic itself. The decreased physical activity resulted in home isolation, which worsened wide range of health problems, including cardiovascular and metabolic illnesses due to negative immune regulation and caused substantial weight gain, hence obesity. Sports active students could not have their exercise, which strengthens their muscles, and keeps good mental and physical health. The activities were affected negatively by quarantine measures (Mertinez –de quel et al., 2021). Home based exercise such as dance and yoga were essential to keep students active during COVID-19 lockdown (Dor-haim et al., 2021). People were exposed to extremely stressful conditions during quarantine, such as reading and watching news updates and being terrified of contracting COVID-19; stress causes food cravings. Closure of structured exercises caused day-to-day caloric balance to shift and weight increase, which had a detrimental effect on physical activity throughout COVID-19 lockdown as it reduced total physical activity. It was established that physical exercise during the lockdown has a direct impact on dietary choices as students focused on the consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish. Gallè et al. (2020), who found low level of physical activities and dramatic increase in sedentary behaviors among undergraduate Italian students during the pandemic, exemplified this notion. The study also established that adequate physical exercise and a healthy diet are associated with previous physical activity and healthy lifestyle adoption. Students who were less active before the lockdown depicted more increase in physical activities and a healthy diet than their previously active counterparts in the non-lockdown period. Poor lifestyle, diet, a...