Population healthy lifestyle changes in Abha city during COVID-19 lockdown, Saudi Arabia

Al-Saleh, Majed M.; Alamri, Ali M.; Alhefzi, Amal A.; Assiri, Khulood K.; Moshebah, Amal Y

BACKGROUND: The pandemic emergence was in Asia late last year, the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica. Cases are rising daily in Africa the Americas, and Europe. (2, 3) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Many preventive measures were recommended by WHO to minimize virus transmission including hand washing and social distancing, travel restrictions, and the closing of gathering areas including universities and schools up to partial or complete lockdown. These measures affected public lifestyle which obligated many persons and families to modify their living condition, sleep hygiene and their routine daily activities to cope with new procedures which is a challenge. AIM: To assess population healthy lifestyle changes during lockdown in Abha city, KSA during COVID-19 pandemic. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional approach was used targeting all accessible population in Abha city. Data were collected from participants using electronic pre-structured questionnaire. The tool will cover participants' socio-demographic data, participants' medical history, perception regarding lockdown and home quarantine, and different lifestyle aspects during lockdown. RESULTS: A total sample of 1641 respondents were included in the current survey. Male participants were 733 (44.7%) and (61.1% of the participants aged 35 years or more. Exact of 85% of the participants agreed on lockdown efficacy. Daily sleep hours for less than 8 hours were recorded for 662 (40.3%) participants. As for dietary habits, exact of 885 participants (53.9%) changed their dietary habits during lockdown. sport practice during lockdown was reported by 981 (59.8%) of the participants. Lockdown related behaviour data showed that 98.5% of the participants were committed to lockdown either partially (18.8%) or completely (79.6%). CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: In conclusion, the current study revealed that COVID-19 pandemic through lockdown as one of the recommended precautions to minimize virus transmission modified nearly all aspects of daily lifestyle including dietary habits, behaviour, social relations, and life sharing.