The association of sociodemographic and lifestyle changes with body weight status during COVID-19 pandemic among university students in Shah Alam, Selangor

Background and objectives: This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine sociodemographic factors and lifestyle changes with body weight status during COVID-19 among university students in Shah Alam, Selangor. Methods: Respondents (n= 403) completed an online self-administered questionnaire comprising self-reported height and weight, sociodemographic characteristics, and Simple Lifestyle Indicator Questionnaire (SLIQ), which includes questions on diet, physical activity, alcohol intake, smoking and stress level before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Most of the respondents were females (59.6%), of Chinese ethnicity (38.7%), with bachelor's degrees (72.2%) qualification. During this study period, most of the respondents were staying at home (77.2%), living with family (81.4%) with a household income of less than RM2500 (43.7%). There was no significant difference in body mass index (BMI) between male and female respondents in this study, either before or during the COVID-19 pandemic, with p>0.05. As for BMI differences, the majority (44.7%) had no changes in BMI. However, most respondents (53.8%) were weight gain in body weight changes. Varying total SLIQ scores can be observed across sociodemographic characteristics before and during the pandemic. However, the results were not statistically significant (p>0.05). In terms of body weight status and SLIQ scores were reported higher mean SLIQ scores among overweight respondents than in the other BMI categories (p