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Abstract

Background: Pandemics greatly affected human health due to changes in dietary habits and lifestyle Methods: A multi-centric comparative cross-sectional study was conducted online using a structured questionnaire with 323 respondents from two medical colleges of Lahore, Pakistan. The collected data was analyzed including various variables of dietary habits, lifestyle changes and were compared by using paired sample t-test. Chi-square test was applied to measure the relation of weight gain with lifestyle and dietary habits changes. Result: Out of 323 participants, 64.5% of them observed an increase in their weights and 64.1% of respondents noticed an increase in caloric intake. An increase in chicken, milk, oil, sugar and legumes intake was increased significantly during the quarantine. The lifestyle changes were noted in 91.6% of participants and decreased physical activity, working duration and outdoor games were found significant. Out of 7.4% of students who were smokers, 6.8% of them quit smoking during the quarantine. Conclusion: A significant increase in weight is indicated during quarantine as compared to before quarantine probably due to the changes in dietary habits and lifestyle. If the pandemic prolongs, the problem of weight gain may worsen and lead to obesity and other health problems.

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