Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
Social isolation in adults can be associated with altered sleep and eating behavior. This study aimed to investigate the interactions between the extent of social contact, eating behavior and sleep in infants and preschool children. In an observational study, 439 caregivers of 562 children aged 0–6...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/6/900 |
| _version_ | 1797241039218540544 |
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| author | Christophe Mühlematter Matthieu Beaugrand Andjela Markovic Salome Kurth |
| author_facet | Christophe Mühlematter Matthieu Beaugrand Andjela Markovic Salome Kurth |
| author_sort | Christophe Mühlematter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Social isolation in adults can be associated with altered sleep and eating behavior. This study aimed to investigate the interactions between the extent of social contact, eating behavior and sleep in infants and preschool children. In an observational study, 439 caregivers of 562 children aged 0–6 years provided information on sleep (i.e., duration, latency, bedtimes and nighttime awakenings), eating behaviors (i.e., meal size, consumption of sweet snacks, salty snacks, fruits and vegetables) and social contact (i.e., quarantine status, household size, social activities) during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020). In infants (0–3 years), the change in meal size and consumption of snacks, fruits, and vegetables did not significantly relate to the extent of social contact. For preschool children (3–6 years), a trend was observed, suggesting that quarantine status was associated with increased meal size. Changes in sleep duration, sleep latency, bedtimes and nighttime awakenings from before to during the pandemic were not significantly linked to the three variables quantifying social contact in both age groups. This study highlights that, contrary to expectations, the extent of social contact has negligible associations with infants’ and preschool children’s sleep and eating behaviors. These findings indicate that other factors beyond social isolation play a role in shaping children’s eating habits and sleep patterns. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:16:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-72e041eeb4ca452a9806ba57a84703d4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:16:59Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-72e041eeb4ca452a9806ba57a84703d42024-03-27T13:41:07ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582024-03-0113690010.3390/foods13060900Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional StudyChristophe Mühlematter0Matthieu Beaugrand1Andjela Markovic2Salome Kurth3Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, SwitzerlandSocial isolation in adults can be associated with altered sleep and eating behavior. This study aimed to investigate the interactions between the extent of social contact, eating behavior and sleep in infants and preschool children. In an observational study, 439 caregivers of 562 children aged 0–6 years provided information on sleep (i.e., duration, latency, bedtimes and nighttime awakenings), eating behaviors (i.e., meal size, consumption of sweet snacks, salty snacks, fruits and vegetables) and social contact (i.e., quarantine status, household size, social activities) during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020). In infants (0–3 years), the change in meal size and consumption of snacks, fruits, and vegetables did not significantly relate to the extent of social contact. For preschool children (3–6 years), a trend was observed, suggesting that quarantine status was associated with increased meal size. Changes in sleep duration, sleep latency, bedtimes and nighttime awakenings from before to during the pandemic were not significantly linked to the three variables quantifying social contact in both age groups. This study highlights that, contrary to expectations, the extent of social contact has negligible associations with infants’ and preschool children’s sleep and eating behaviors. These findings indicate that other factors beyond social isolation play a role in shaping children’s eating habits and sleep patterns.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/6/900poor sleepeating habitssocial activitiesearly developmentearly childhoodpandemic effects |
| spellingShingle | Christophe Mühlematter Matthieu Beaugrand Andjela Markovic Salome Kurth Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study Foods poor sleep eating habits social activities early development early childhood pandemic effects |
| title | Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full | Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_short | Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_sort | associations between social contact sleep and dietary patterns among children a cross sectional study |
| topic | poor sleep eating habits social activities early development early childhood pandemic effects |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/6/900 |
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