Evaluation of emotional (depression) and behavioural (nutritional, physical activity and sleep) status of Turkish adults during the COVID-19 pandemic period

Objective: To evaluate emotional (depression) and behavioural (nutritional behaviours, physical activity status and sleep patterns) of Turkish adult individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Design: Cross-sectional online survey. The participants filled out a questionnaire (developed by using Google Forms) that contained descriptive characteristics, nutritional behaviours, sleep patterns, physical activity status, anthropometric measurements, COVID-19-related level of knowledge and the questions of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale through e-mail or social media (WhatsApp). Setting: Turkey. Participants: Totally, 1120 adult individuals who completed an online survey between April and May 2020. Results: It was determined that 29.1 % of the individuals showed mild, 34.2 % moderate and 23.4 % severe depression symptoms during the pandemic period. A significant relationship was found between gender, age and educational status, marital status and depression levels of the individuals, respectively (χ= 35.292, χ= 103.46, χ= 24.524 and χ= 86.208, P < 0.05). The top three foods consumed most during the pandemic period are tea and coffee (66.6 %), pastry (e.g. cake and cookie) (56.4 %) and desserts (49.6 %). During the pandemic period, 42.5 % of the individuals stated that they slept more and 40.2 % stated that there was no change in their sleep patterns. Daily physical activity durations were determined as 8.25 ± 1.77 h for sleep, 4.21 ± 2.68 h for lying down, 5.42 ± 2.64 h for sitting and 6.16 ± 4.82 h for standing activities. Conclusion: It was determined that the individuals showed different levels of depression symptoms during the pandemic period. Especially, carbohydrate food consumption increased, and physical activity status and sleep patterns changed due to the increased time spent sitting and lying. © Authors 2020.