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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting our lifestyles, such as work, living, and health. In Malaysia, the Restriction of Movement Order (RMO) was first announced in March 2020 to curb the spread of the virus. Since then, many Malaysians have been confined to their own home. This new lifestyle can cause a change of eating habits where healthy eating may be a challenge. Hence, our qualitative study explored the challenges and strategies for healthy eating during the first wave of the COVID-19 home confinement period among working adults overweight and obese in Malaysia. Eleven participants were individually interviewed through phone calls. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and then coded with NVIVO 12 based on thematic analysis. We found that social pressure, changes in the social setting, more free time to access food, and extra stock of unhealthy foods at home were among the challenges to healthy eating. Some participants countered these perceived challenges by reducing unhealthy food stock, limiting kitchen visits, and utilizing self-monitoring apps to monitor their calorie intake. Social media was not consistently perceived to influence their eating behavior during this period. We conclude that COVID-19 home confinement has created challenges to healthy eating habits among overweight and obese adults with overweight and obesity. Our study provides evidence that vulnerable groups such as overweight and obese individuals require specific nutritional support during pandemic-related confinement to enhance eating self-efficacy.

Details

Title
The Challenges and Strategies towards Healthy Eating during COVID-19 Home Confinement Period among Working Adults with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 Enrolled in a Weight Loss Program: Qualitative Findings
Author
Siti Munirah Abdul Basir 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zahara Abdul Manaf 1 ; Norhayati Mohd Noor 2 ; Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Shahar, Suzana 1 ; Mohd Rizal Abdul Manaf 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Centre for Healthy Aging and Wellness and Dietetic Program, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Selangor, Malaysia; [email protected] (S.M.A.B.); [email protected] (S.S.) 
 Center of Community Education and Wellbeing, Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia; [email protected] 
 Centre for Healthy Aging and Wellness and Biomedical Science Program, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Selangor, Malaysia; [email protected] 
 Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Selangor, Malaysia; [email protected] 
First page
6656
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2674350462
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.