Health Promoting and Lifestyle Behaviour Changes among People on Quarantine as a Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic an Online Cross-sectional Study

Background: Practising and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours have been one of the major challenges during the COVID-19 Pandemic due to lockdown measures and mandatory isolation. The changing lifestyle concerns and anxiety and stress due to uncertainty about this pandemic have been considered negative implications of COVID-19. Aim: The current study was undertaken to assess the participants’ health promoting lifestyle profile due to the COVID-19 related quarantine and isolation. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was used to assess the participants’ health-related lifestyle profile due to COVID-19 related quarantine measures. Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile -II and socio-demographic sheet with behaviours and practices questions were used to assess changes in health promoting lifestyle behaviours using online platform. Results: The health promoting lifestyle survey was completed by the (n- 126) participants. The lowest mean scores on the health promoting lifestyle profile questionnaire were found in the domains of physical activity (mean=17.57), health responsibility (mean=20.17) and management of stress (mean=21.09) during the lockdown whereas the highest scores were found in domains of nutrition (mean=23.67), spiritual growth (mean=25.27), and interpersonal relationships (mean=24.15). A significant reduction in the physical activity was coupled with increase in high calorie intake among the participants. Participants were found to have sustained at least one meaningful relationship during the lockdown and regularly attending educational programs on personal health care. Conclusion: The pandemic has witnessed a downfall in physical activities, sleep patterns and increase in nutrition and stress levels among the participants creating a vulnerability of developing metabolic syndromes and affecting immunity. Suggests need for bringing strategies for promoting healthy lifestyle to prevent the occurrence of such metabolic concerns in future epidemics and pandemics.