Did lockdown 1.0 change lifestyle behaviours?
Findings from the Covid-19 health and wellbeing tracker study
Tuesday 26 January 2021, 1.00 - 2.00pm
Free seminar presentation - online and interactive
All staff, students and members of the public welcome. Contact HSC.News@uea.ac.uk to receive the event link
In rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the sweeping changes to healthcare and restrictions on daily living, in early April 2020 a UEA team set up a UK intensive longitudinal study (N=1,044) to understand the secondary impacts of COVID-19 on health behaviours and mental health/wellbeing. We used daily diaries throughout lockdown and followed the cohort up at 3 and 6 months. In this talk, I will present findings that describe changes in health behaviours (diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, drug use) during the early part of the first UK lockdown compared to pre-lockdown levels.
Overall, we found reductions in diet quality and physical activity and increases in drinking across the cohort, with no observed changes in smoking and drug use. The findings also identified particular groups who were most disadvantaged by lockdown, including those most vulnerable to Covid-19. As health behaviours have a short term effect on immune functioning and a long term effect on disease risk, changes in these behaviours are of high public health importance.
Felix Naughton is a Health Psychologist and a Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology within the School of Health Sciences. He is co-lead of the Behavioural and Implementation Science research group and the Addictions Research Group within FMH. He leads a programme of work focused on the development and evaluation of digital interventions to promote and support health behaviour change, particularly those promoting smoking cessation. He co-leads the C-19 Health and Wellbeing Tracker Study with Professor Caitlin Notley.