Lifestyles of 2-to 11-year-old children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: risk factors associated with obesity such as poor dietary quality, low physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and poor sleep duration (SD) were affected during confinement resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Objective: the aim of our study was to evaluate the association between PA, ST and SD with the consumption of non-recommended food groups (N-RFG) in children during the COVID-19 pandemic, using data from ENSARS-CoV-2 Girls and Boys. Methods: data were gathered through a self-administered electronic survey carried out in four regions of Mexico during September and October 2020. Dietary patterns were established using k-means cluster analysis. Linear regression models were used to study the effect of food consumption patterns and PA on hours of ST per week. Results: in all, 2,405 children aged 2 to 11 were studied. Three food group consumption patterns were identified. Group 1 or "high consumption of added sugars group" and Group 2 or "high consumption of N-RFG group" children reported more hours of ST than those in Group 3 or "low consumption of N-RFG group" (p p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Group 2 reported more hours per week of ST but also more days of PA vs Group 3. Conclusion: confronted by the pandemic, it is essential to redouble efforts to reverse the harmful effects of lifestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve the health of Mexican children in the years to come.