Eating behaviors among online learning undergraduates during the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has upended education systems. The pandemic switched traditional face-to-face classes to online classes. Poor eating behaviors in undergraduate students’ lives may affect the well-being of their later stages of life. This study aimed to investigate the eating behaviors among online learning undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 122 students were recruited. The results revealed more than half of the respondents (52.46%) skipped meals. Breakfast (46.72%) was the most skipped meal. The majority of the respondents (94.26%) snacked between meals. Biscuits (88.52%), bread (84.43%), and fruits (80.33%) were the most common snacked foods. Meal skipping was found to be associated with gender (χ2 = 6.83, p < 0.05). In the future, more health interventions program aimed to promote healthy eating behaviors among undergraduates are highly warranted.