Investigation of the dietary preferances of people with type 2 diabetes as well as their physical activity before and during the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The rapid spread of covid-19 caused the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it as a public emergency. People with underlying diseases and especially Type 2 Diabetes are in the high risk groups.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the dietary preferences of people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, as well as their physical activity before and during the covid-19 pandemic.

Material and Method: The study sample consisted of 150 people with DM2, who answered questions on a questionnaire designed for the purpose of the study. All the questions were mainly related to the type of food they preferred to eat and whether they followed any physical activity. Pearson’s x2-test statistic was applied. Statistical significance was set at p≤0.05

Results: Of the 150 people who participated in the study, 51.3% were male and 52.0% were younger than 54 years of age. Statistical analysis of the collected data found that ready-to-eat food 1-2 times a week, pre-covid-19, was most frequently consumed by those aged <54 years (64.1%vs43.1%), a proportion that decreased during the pandemic (55.1%vs34.7%), (p<0.001) and (p=0.004), respectively. The same age group participated more frequently in 30ha of aerobic exercise before (42.3%vs30.6%), (p<0.001), (p<0.001), and (37.2%vs16.7%), (p<0.001), during the pandemic. During the pandemic men more often rated their sleep quality as very poor (13.0%vs5.5%), (p=0.023), (p=0.023), while no statistically significant differences were observed pre-pandemic.

Conclusions: The increase in the number of cases and the possible fear of infection by SARS-CoV-2 resulted in the restriction to a greater frequency. Thus, despite the prolonged stay at home, a deterioration in the quality of nutrition was observed, as well as a reduction in physical exercise. There seemed to be effects on the quality of sleep, while at the same time high rates of anxiety were also noted. Therefore, it is necessary to find more ways to educate people with T2DM about diet and exercise to improve metabolic control and counter the negative effects of the pandemic.