Temporal patterns of sleep and eating among children during school closure in Japan due to COVID-19 pandemic: associations with lifestyle behaviours and dietary intake

Lifestyle Pathways Affecting Children's Mental Health in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The recent prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the daily lives of preschoolers and elementary school children worldwide. Although these changes may have affected their mental health, the full picture still remains unknown. Since March 2020, Japan has intermittently experienced several COVID-19 waves. This survey was conducted between February and March 2022. In this study, we investigated the pathways by which specific lifestyle factors (such as exercise, sleep, diet, and life skills) affect physical/psychosocial health (PPH) in 1183 preschoolers (3-5 years old) and 3156 elementary school children (6-11 years old) in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. These pathways were examined using a path analysis. Consequently, "life skills" was found to be the factor most strongly associated with PPH in both preschoolers and elementary school children (p < 0.001). Furthermore, it was associated with the physical activity score and with PPH via physical activity. Moreover, both boys' and girls' mental health declined with age among elementary school children (p < 0.001). The results of the current study may be helpful for early interventions (around the start of elementary school) at home and at school to improve children's mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What happened among Japanese children from school closure due to COVID-19 after school re-opening? Changes in sleep habits and dietary intake

The present study aimed to (1) examine the changes in sleep habits and dietary intake among school-aged children after the school re-opening from a 3-month closure (without school lunch) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) examine whether the changes differ between those with different temporal patterns of sleep and eating during school closure, namely, 'Very early', 'Early', 'Late' and 'Very late'. The latter patterns were characterised by later timings of wake up, breakfast and lunch. Questionnaires were answered twice by 4084 children (aged 8-15 years), themselves and/or their parents: first in June 2020 (for assessing lifestyle during school closure) and second, from July 2020 to February 2021 (for assessing lifestyle after school opening). After school re-opening, the participants' wake-up time became an hour earlier (95 % CI 1⋅0, 1⋅1) and sleep duration got 0⋅94 h shorter (95 % CI 0⋅91, 0⋅97) than during school closure. An increase in dietary intake was observed for thiamine, vitamin B6, potassium, fruits and dairy products, and a decrease was observed for sugars (as foods) and confectioneries and sweetened beverages, despite small effect sizes (Cohen's d: 0⋅20-0⋅30). Significant changes in wake-up time, sleep duration and sweetened beverage intake were observed among children with the latter temporal patterns. Thus, children wake up earlier and sleep for shorter durations after school re-opening than during school closure; however, changes in dietary intake were generally insignificant. Dietary intake among school-aged children in Japan during school closure (without school lunch) might not be worse than that during school days with universal school lunch.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dietary Practices for Mothers in Japan

To the best of our knowledge, changes in mothers’ dietary behaviors or perceptions of dietary intake during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been extensively discussed. Therefore, the present study aimed to clarify how the dietary behaviors of mothers living with their children changed during the pandemic in Japan. Ordered probit and interval regressions were applied to individual data for mothers living with children under 18 years of age from five independently conducted Surveys of Attitudes toward Food and Nutrition Education (Shokuiku in Japanese). The estimation results showed that although mothers were more likely to eat dinner with their families during the pandemic, attention to healthy dietary practices, frequency of eating nutritionally balanced food, and dietary practices for preventing lifestyle-related diseases were negatively affected by the pandemic. In conclusion, mothers were more likely to decrease their commitment to a healthy and well-balanced diet during the pandemic than before it. Further research based on the latest datasets with detailed information over the long-term is required.