A study conducted by the Health Education Department of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, last April, in cooperation with the University of Sharjah, with the participation of 2060 people from different segments of society in the Emirates, that 39% of smokers decreased their smoking rate with the spread of the Corona virus.
The preliminary results of the scientific study conducted by designing an electronic questionnaire in Arabic and English through social media platforms with the aim of monitoring nutritional changes and lifestyle during home quarantine indicated that 29.4% of the community members confirmed that their weight increased during the same period and 32% increased the amount of food they had .
The study, which was built on 3 main axes, namely health, physical activity, food habits, and lifestyle followed, showed that 98% of society believe that home stone is an effective means of protecting the family and stopping the spread of infectious diseases and that 83% are keen to wear gloves and masks when leaving the house. It indicates the extent of awareness reinforced by the preventive measures and measures taken by the state.
The study was prepared by His Excellency Iman Rashid Saif, Director of Health Education at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, Dr. Hadia Radwan, Assistant Professor at the College of Health Sciences at the University of Sharjah, Dr. Haider Hassan, Assistant Professor at the College of Health Sciences at the University of Sharjah, and Mahra Khalfan Al Ketbi, Master of Public Health, Director of the Division Knowledge and Performance Management of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, Dr. Farah Naga is an associate professor at the American University of Beirut, and Marwa Al-Hilali is a dietitian at Al Qasimi Hospital.
His Excellency Eman Rashid Saif stressed that the launch of this scientific questionnaire in cooperation with the University of Sharjah aims to support national efforts to confront the emerging corona virus, by measuring the level of societal awareness to prepare a scientific study based on the results obtained, to put forward solutions and proposals that will enhance the health of individuals in the community And their awareness of the behaviors to be followed to confront this epidemic.
She pointed out that the questionnaire also aims to know the healthy patterns and habits and the extent of society's commitment to them such as physical activity and eating healthy food, to know the most important steps that can be activated in the future to contribute to improving the quality of people's lives, in line with the visions and directives of the wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, Chair of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, aimed at encouraging members of society to adopt healthy habits that keep them safe.
She noted that the results of the initial study led to a set of promising results by increasing the awareness rate of the members of the community, where the results showed that 79% of the segment that was subjected to the questionnaire is keen to sterilize the food after purchasing it during the quarantine period, and that 84% of those who have children at home Encourage them to be physically active, 25% of them daily.
For her part, Dr. Hadia Radwan pointed out that the importance of this study lies in its specificity, timing and the comprehensiveness of the data collected, as its results will reflect the practices of individuals in the Emirates during the pandemic and domestic stone, which will have important repercussions on the health of individuals and society as a whole, adjusting lifestyles and health practices Eating a healthy diet boosts the immune system and improves its performance, largely against viruses.
She pointed out that this study comes in support of the goals of the University of Sharjah and the support and encouragement it gives to conduct scientific research, especially that serves the UAE community and its development, stressing that the results of this study will enable us to compare its data with global data in terms of nutrition and health, as it will form a basic building block for future in-depth studies.
The results of the study, which surveyed 2060 participants from different sectors of society in the UAE, showed that 66.7% of them were either obese or overweight, and 56.6% were practicing physical activity before quarantine, 30% of them decreased their activity after quarantine, and the percentage of individuals who spent more than 7 hours of sleep since the stone started from 63% to 70%.
Regarding the axis of food habits, 62% increased their consumption of citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons, and 50.2% increased their drinking water rates, and 38.4% started drinking herbal tea since the beginning of the pandemic, in addition to 94% believed that eating more vitamins and minerals It can strengthen the body against Covid 19.
The results related to the lifestyle axis linked to the home stone also showed that 67.2% feel pressures and 42% of the community feel more angry attacks about their lives before the quarantine, in addition to the majority of society members believe that their healthy lifestyle will change for the better after the crisis by 55%.