The Impact on Children’s Lifestyle and Behaviour Due to COVID-19 Pandemic- A Questionnaire Study

Introduction: The “COVID-19” pandemic has caused huge changes in people's lifestyle, health, and social relationships. This situation has had an intense impact on children, affecting their health, intellectual, physical, and emotional development. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of “COVID-19” lockdown measures on the diet, behaviour and physical activities of children.

Study Design: A questionnaire study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Public Health Dentistry, M. A. Rangoonwala College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre, Pune, Maharashtra, between January 2022 and June 2022.

Methodology: A study was conducted among the pediatric population in Pune, a metropolitan city of Maharashtra. The participants were selected based on the age group ranging from 1 to 14 years. The structured, self-administered, and close-ended questionnaire comprised of 29 questions which included demographic data such as name, age, gender, and education. The statistical analysis was done using the descriptive statistics.

Results: In this study, there were total of 180 participants of age 1-14 years of age. About 87.3% of the participants were aware about balance diet and around 86.6% of the participants knew about the effects of excessive sugar on health. About 52.8% of the participants believed that “COVID-19” pandemic has reduced physical activities in children.

Conclusion: The level of knowledge of the participants in the study was adequate, while the attitude and practice relating to diet, lack of physical activities, excessive screen time and sedentary behaviors during “COVID-19” pandemic was average in the participants.